Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases Shares of 14,131 Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies disclosed a new first-quarter position in Lennar, buying 14,131 shares valued at about $1.23 million.
• Other institutional investors have also been active in Lennar, and hedge funds now own about 81.1% of the company’s stock, signaling heavy institutional interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Lennar has an average rating of “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $92.80, while the stock was trading near $82 after a recent earnings beat on EPS but a revenue miss.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,131 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of Lennar by 86.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company's stock worth $279,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in Lennar by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $201,835,000 after buying an additional 934,856 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Lennar by 1,303.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,383,000 after buying an additional 455,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,127,225 shares of the construction company's stock worth $218,681,000 after buying an additional 228,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LEN. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Lennar from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lennar from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, BTIG Research set a $67.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and ten have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $92.80.

Lennar Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $82.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.91. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.18 and a 52-week high of $144.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.38. The stock has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Lennar's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Lennar's payout ratio is 31.30%.

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.

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