Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,717 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,186 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $5,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in Lennar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE LEN opened at $120.55 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.18. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $115.61 and a 12 month high of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company 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 company earned $4.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research lowered Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.53.

Lennar Profile

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.