Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,488 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in Lennar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 167,182 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,799,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,356,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,565. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.40 and a 200 day moving average of $128.14. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $98.42 and a 12-month high of $187.61. The stock has a market cap of $27.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LEN. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lennar from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.07.

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.