Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Stock Position in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB reduced its stake in Lennar Corporation by 42.5%, selling 35,133 shares and now holding a total of 47,439 shares valued at approximately $5.45 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Cetera Investment Advisers and Sound Shore Management Inc., have adjusted their stakes in Lennar, indicating increased interest from the investment community.
• Lennar's recent earnings report showed a miss in earnings per share, at $1.90 compared to the anticipated $1.94, despite a revenue of $8.38 billion that exceeded analyst expectations.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 42.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,439 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 35,133 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Lennar were worth $5,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lennar in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Lennar in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LEN. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Lennar from $128.00 to $114.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.85.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $113.43. 872,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,165,927. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $110.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.40. The stock has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.33. Lennar Corporation has a 12-month low of $98.42 and a 12-month high of $193.80. 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 (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.04). Lennar had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.54%.

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.