Lennar Corporation $LEN Shares Sold by Smead Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Lennar Corporation by 8.7%, bringing its total shares to approximately 2.38 million which represents 4.7% of its portfolio.
• Lennar's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.90, missing estimates of $1.94, while revenue was $8.38 billion, above the consensus of $8.21 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 16.54%.

Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,377,483 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 226,072 shares during the quarter. Lennar comprises approximately 4.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned 0.90% of Lennar worth $272,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 1st quarter worth about $926,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 15.4% during the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 208,763 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,962,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,041 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,825,000 after buying an additional 8,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its position in Lennar by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 3,649 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN traded down $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $132.64. 1,811,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,160,904. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.65 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $119.34 and its 200-day moving average is $114.52. Lennar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $193.80.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Zelman & Associates downgraded Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.77.

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.