Nykredit A S Takes Position in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• Nykredit A S initiated a position in Lennar by purchasing 58,515 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million; institutional investors collectively own 81.1% of the company.
• Lennar reported quarterly EPS of $1.23 and revenue of $8.05 billion, missing analyst expectations, while revenue declined 8.7% year over year. Management also reduced its annual home-delivery forecast to 80,000–81,000 homes from 82,000–83,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative: Lennar has an average “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, seven Hold, and nine Sell ratings, and an average price target of $81.77. Berkshire Hathaway has nevertheless continued buying shares, increasing its stake to 23.7 million shares.

Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 58,515 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $5,295,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LEN. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Lennar by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 82,261 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,444,000 after buying an additional 16,299 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 4.8% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,460 shares of the construction company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,157 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank lifted its holdings in Lennar by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 14,314 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 6,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FirstWave Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $81.77.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $78.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39. Lennar Corporation has a 1 year low of $75.70 and a 1 year high of $133.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.09.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.81%.

Key Lennar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway made substantial purchases. The major shareholder bought a combined 2.74 million Lennar shares across September 17, 18 and 21 for approximately $212 million, increasing its direct stake to 23.7 million shares. The purchases may improve investor confidence by signaling that Berkshire views the depressed valuation as attractive. SEC ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Lennar acquired 444 lots near TSMC’s Phoenix-area project for $60 million. The land position could provide exposure to employment and population growth tied to the semiconductor investment, although it is unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Lennar Phoenix lots article
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results highlighted profitability and demand concerns. Lennar reported adjusted EPS of $1.23, below the $1.29 consensus, while revenue of $8.05 billion missed expectations of $8.32 billion and declined 8.7% year over year. Gross margin on home sales was 15.8%, as elevated incentives needed to preserve affordability offset lower construction costs. Barron's Lennar earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: Management reduced its annual delivery forecast. Lennar now expects to deliver 80,000–81,000 homes, down from its prior 82,000–83,000 target. The revision reinforces concerns that high mortgage rates and weak affordability are limiting demand and forcing heavier buyer incentives. Lennar delivery forecast article
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target from $88 to $85 and maintained a neutral rating. Although the revised target implies potential upside from recent trading levels, the cut reflects reduced expectations following Lennar’s earnings miss. A separate Royal Bank of Canada outlook was also described as pessimistic. Royal Bank of Canada Lennar forecast

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 667,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $51,861,753.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 23,719,109 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,923,533.66. This trade represents a 2.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 2,743,529 shares of company stock valued at $212,403,202 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.05% of the company's stock.

Lennar Profile

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and communities for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, and active-adult purchasers.

Lennar operates across many of the country's major housing markets, including communities in the West, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and other metropolitan areas. Its homebuilding operations offer a variety of floor plans and home designs, while the company also develops residential communities and provides related services such as mortgage financing, title, and closing services through its financial-services businesses.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Lennar has expanded into multifamily development and other residential real-estate activities.

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