Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. Lennar had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 7.80%.

Lennar Trading Up 5.7%

LEN stock traded up $5.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,386,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,856. The firm has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Lennar has a 12-month low of $81.18 and a 12-month high of $144.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.65.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEN. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Lennar from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $97.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $89.00 to $82.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $97.27.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEN. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in Lennar by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after buying an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,127,225 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,681,000 after buying an additional 228,247 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth $95,941,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Lennar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 555,305 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,991,000 after buying an additional 19,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Lennar by 1,303.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,383,000 after buying an additional 455,174 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.