Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,378 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 7,657 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $7,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the second quarter worth $36,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 405 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Argus raised Lennar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Lennar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $111.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. Lennar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $144.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 4.89.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 16th. The construction company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.27). Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The company had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 4th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.03%.

Lennar Profile

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.