Vest Financial LLC Has $32.02 Million Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 60.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 234,798 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 88,391 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.09% of Lennar worth $32,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Lennar in the third quarter worth approximately $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 258.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 494,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,774,000 after purchasing an additional 356,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lennar by 23,048.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,209,000 after buying an additional 149,812 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of LEN stock opened at $121.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.67. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $121.40 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.74.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.19.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company’s homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.