Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,559,277 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the March 31st total of 11,140,413 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,254,291 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LEN. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lennar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $99.87.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,184,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,994. Lennar has a 12-month low of $83.03 and a 12-month high of $144.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.07). Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Lennar Company 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.