Short Interest in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Rises By 25.5%

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,510,000 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the April 30th total of 6,780,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN traded down $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $109.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,815,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,798. Lennar has a 1 year low of $98.42 and a 1 year high of $187.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.48.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LEN. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $131.00 target price (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.07.

About Lennar

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.