ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires 53,992 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA increased its Lennar stake by 117.4% in the first quarter, buying 53,992 additional shares and bringing its total to 99,992 shares worth about $8.68 million.
• Lennar’s stock was down 1.6% and opened at $82.88, near its 52-week low of $81.18, while trading well below its 200-day moving average of $98.38.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $1.31 per share, beating estimates, but revenue fell 5.2% year over year; Lennar also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 2.4% annually.

ABC Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 117.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,992 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares during the quarter. Lennar comprises approximately 1.2% of ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings in Lennar were worth $8,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in Lennar by 86.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,068 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,127,225 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $218,681,000 after purchasing an additional 228,247 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $201,835,000 after buying an additional 934,856 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at $95,941,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Lennar by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 578,927 shares of the construction company's stock worth $72,968,000 after buying an additional 168,196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $82.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.51 and a 200 day moving average of $98.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.91. Lennar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $81.18 and a fifty-two week high of $144.24. The company has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.38.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is 31.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on LEN. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Lennar from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lennar from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $107.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $93.87.

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.

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