Short Interest in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Decreases By 9.3%

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, a decrease of 9.3% from the March 15th total of 4,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LEN. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.88.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 36,698 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,311,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,527,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the construction company's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Down 2.4 %

LEN traded down $3.79 on Monday, reaching $156.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,312,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,110,991. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.53. Lennar has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business's 50 day moving average is $159.55 and its 200 day moving average is $141.31.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Lennar's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar's payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

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.