Wright Investors Service Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,477 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Lennar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN traded up $4.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $155.89. 983,177 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,100,403. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $172.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.96.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued 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 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Company Profile

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.