Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 13,763 call options on the company. This is an increase of 44% compared to the average volume of 9,578 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Lennar to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and eleven have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $78.87.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,708,095 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the purchase, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,118,294.80. This represents a 6.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders purchased 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287. Corporate insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3,980.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,114 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744 shares during the period. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Lennar by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 8,019 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Lennar by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 410 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $943,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $86.32 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.44. Lennar has a 52-week low of $71.78 and a 52-week high of $133.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.81%.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation is a U.S. homebuilder that designs, builds and sells homes in communities across many major housing markets in the country. Its offerings include single-family homes and townhomes, with options and designs aimed at a range of homebuyers. The company also provides services that support home purchases, including mortgage financing and title and closing services. Lennar traces its roots to a homebuilding business founded in Miami in 1954 and has expanded its operations across the United States.