River Road Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Lennar Corporation $LEN

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,477 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 205,234 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Lennar worth $49,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the second quarter worth $33,000. Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 179.8% in the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lennar during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Lennar by 190.9% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 573 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEN. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $122.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lennar from $133.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Lennar from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lennar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.75.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $131.25 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.33. The company has a market capitalization of $33.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.33. Lennar Corporation has a 1 year low of $98.42 and a 1 year high of $177.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The construction company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.01 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.76%.

Lennar Company 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.