Fulcrum Asset Management LLP Purchases Shares of 11,539 Lennar Corporation $LEN

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,539 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000. Lennar accounts for 1.0% of Fulcrum Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Lennar by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,732,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $596,504,000 after buying an additional 603,004 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Lennar by 86.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 7.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,154,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,563,000 after acquiring an additional 75,574 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Lennar by 4.3% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 702,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,745,000 after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 41.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 578,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,968,000 after acquiring an additional 168,196 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several major brokers still show modest upside in their revised targets — UBS lowered its target to $107 (about a 10% upside to the current price), Citigroup lowered to $104 (~7% upside) and Wells Fargo to $100 (~3% upside). Those remaining above the market may be supporting buying interest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HousingWire ran an analysis of Lennar’s margin strategy — a deeper read on management’s approach to margins and pricing that could influence medium-term profitability but is ambiguous near-term for the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly results disappointed: LEN reported $0.88 EPS vs. consensus ~ $0.96 and revenue of $6.62B vs. ~$6.88B — misses that typically pressure residential builders due to sensitivity to volumes and pricing. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple broker notes cut price targets and/or ratings — Barclays cut to $85 and set an underweight, Truist cut to $95 (hold), and other firms trimmed targets — signaling reduced near-term conviction from some sell-side analysts. Those downgrades increase downside risk for investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Local opposition to Lennar’s Hill Country developments is getting press attention; heightened community resistance and permitting/legal risks can slow or add cost to projects in key markets. Read More.

Lennar Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $97.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.01. Lennar Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.17 and a 12-month high of $144.24. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.07). Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $102.79.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.