Sciencast Management LP Invests $2.88 Million in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired a total of 25,055 shares of Lennar Corporation, valued at approximately $2.88 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Despite recent earnings that missed consensus estimates, analysts have mixed ratings for Lennar's stock, with one "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.77.
• Lennar recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%, signaling continued returns to shareholders.

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 25,055 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,876,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LEN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the construction company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Lennar by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,311 shares of the construction company's stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Lennar by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,274 shares of the construction company's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lennar by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,664 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth $612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Lennar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lennar from $128.00 to $114.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 20th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock traded down $2.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,847,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,156,279. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Lennar Corporation has a one year low of $98.42 and a one year high of $193.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.33.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $8.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation 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 Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Lennar's payout ratio is currently 16.54%.

Lennar 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.