Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 15,802 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• Cutler Investment Counsel increased its Lennar stake by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 15,802 additional shares and bringing its total to 42,464 shares worth about $4.37 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed to bearish: multiple analysts lowered price targets and issued sell/underweight calls, with MarketBeat showing an average rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $97.27.
• Lennar’s latest results were a mixed bag, as adjusted EPS of $1.31 beat estimates, but revenue missed expectations and the company trimmed its full-year delivery outlook amid housing-market headwinds.

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,464 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,802 shares during the quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Lennar were worth $4,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth $26,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lennar by 102.7% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 371 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEN. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $89.00 to $82.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lennar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on Lennar from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $97.27.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $94.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.46. Lennar Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.18 and a twelve month high of $144.24.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Lennar's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Trending Headlines about Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lennar reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.31, topping consensus of $1.23, which suggests earnings held up better than Wall Street expected. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company continued returning capital, repurchasing 5 million shares for $447 million, and it ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash and no borrowings on its revolving credit facility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Deliveries rose 2% year over year to 20,519 homes, showing some operational resilience even as the housing market remains pressured. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Lennar also cut its full-year delivery outlook to roughly 82,000 to 83,000 homes, citing stubborn housing-market headwinds, high interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates at $7.9 billion versus about $8.10 billion, and new orders fell 4% year over year, underscoring softer demand. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors also had to absorb earlier analyst caution, including a price-target cut from Bank of America to $84, reflecting continued concern about housing affordability and rates. Article Title

About Lennar

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.