Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Up 6.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Lennar shares rose 6.6% to about $82.79 in Thursday trading, despite volume running 38% below the daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains weak: Lennar has a consensus “Strong Sell” rating from MarketBeat, with 11 sell, 7 hold, and 1 buy ratings and an average price target of $79.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.23 in EPS versus $1.29 expected and revenue of $8.05 billion versus $8.32 billion forecast; revenue declined 8.7% year over year. Lennar also declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.4% annualized yield.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) shares shot up 6.6% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $82.30 and last traded at $82.7920. Approximately 2,025,010 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 3,257,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lennar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Lennar to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $79.00.

Lennar Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.27 and a 200 day moving average of $85.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Lennar's payout ratio is presently 37.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lennar news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,708,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $79.44 per share, with a total value of $135,691,066.80. Following the purchase, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,118,294.80. The trade was a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company's stock worth $221,176,000 after purchasing an additional 419,745 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 601,468 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,231,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares during the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Lennar by 6,292.5% during the second quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 328,000 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,681,000 after buying an additional 322,869 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Lennar by 2.3% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 313,354 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,212,000 after buying an additional 7,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 322.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 309,880 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,910,000 after buying an additional 236,524 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation NYSE: LEN is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.

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