American Trust Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 3,115 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• American Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lennar Corporation by 10.5%, acquiring an additional 3,115 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 32,816 shares valued at $3.77 million.
• Analysts have recently cut their price targets on Lennar, with ratings for the stock ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold," and a consensus target price of $130.77.
• Lennar reported a quarterly EPS of $1.90, slightly missing analyst expectations, while its revenue was $8.38 billion, exceeding expectations but showing a 4.4% decline year-over-year.

American Trust Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,816 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 3,115 shares during the quarter. Lennar comprises 1.6% of American Trust Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Lennar were worth $3,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lennar by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,894,125 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,020,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,567 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,189,608 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $251,323,000 after purchasing an additional 415,218 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $41,788,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $38,125,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $37,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LEN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Lennar from $128.00 to $114.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. Zelman & Associates lowered Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.77.

Lennar Trading Up 2.7%

LEN stock traded up $3.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $141.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,266,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,986,634. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.97. Lennar Corporation has a 12 month low of $98.42 and a 12 month high of $193.80. The stock has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.33.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.04). Lennar had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 9.20%.The business had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. Lennar's revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.54%.

Lennar Company Profile

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.