Short Interest in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Drops By 18.2%

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,310,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the March 31st total of 7,710,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Lennar Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE LEN traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $109.11. 2,184,447 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,569,984. Lennar has a twelve month low of $98.42 and a twelve month high of $187.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.63.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com raised Lennar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lennar from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.07.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Lennar by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,116,558 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $834,115,000 after buying an additional 213,003 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company's stock worth $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Lennar by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company's stock worth $441,769,000 after purchasing an additional 515,378 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Lennar by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at $218,533,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.