SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Lennar Corporation $LEN

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 804.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,183 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,610 shares during the quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LEN. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,068 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the second quarter worth about $25,440,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 86.1% in the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 443,477 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,749,000 after acquiring an additional 205,234 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 1,656.1% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 155,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,214,000 after buying an additional 146,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luxor Capital Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of LEN opened at $114.15 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. Lennar Corporation has a 12 month low of $98.42 and a 12 month high of $144.24.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 16th. The construction company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 4th. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 25.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lennar from $133.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Lennar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $114.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Lennar 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.