Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Traders bought 12,828 Lennar put options, about 130% above the average volume of 5,578 contracts.
• Shares declined: Lennar stock fell $1.70 to $85.85, near its 52-week low of $79.82 and below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative: Lennar has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with 10 Sell, 7 Hold and 1 Buy ratings and an average price target of $92.13.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 12,828 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 130% compared to the average volume of 5,578 put options.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded down $1.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.85. The company had a trading volume of 721,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,856,231. Lennar has a 52 week low of $79.82 and a 52 week high of $144.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $87.36 and its 200 day moving average is $94.49. The company has a market cap of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.91.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LEN. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lennar from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $92.13.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEN. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation NYSE: LEN is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.

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