Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 370,742 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 75.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,363 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 370,742 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Lennar were worth $10,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 7.1% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 10,560 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 4,654 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,725 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $84.74 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.00 and a 200-day moving average of $97.08. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.82 and a 52-week high of $144.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.91. The company has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.38.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 31.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $67.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.80.

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.