Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Short Interest Update

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the October 15th total of 5,040,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Lennar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of LEN traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,728,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,014,268. Lennar has a 12-month low of $125.17 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.35 and its 200 day moving average is $168.88.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennar will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lennar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Lennar by 2.5% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Lennar by 1.5% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LEN. Zelman & Associates upgraded Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.56.

About Lennar

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.