Sapient Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lennar Corporation by 114.9% during Q2, owning 232,414 shares valued at approximately $25.7 million.
• Lennar's latest earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $1.90 compared to the expected $1.94, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 1.5%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 16.54%.

Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 114.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,414 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 124,273 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC owned 0.09% of Lennar worth $25,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 179.8% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of LEN traded down $5.70 on Friday, reaching $127.17. The stock had a trading volume of 17,036,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,277,253. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 3.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.03. Lennar Corporation has a 12-month low of $98.42 and a 12-month high of $189.65.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The construction company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.15. Lennar had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 9.20%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LEN. Zelman & Associates lowered Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Lennar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.08.

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.