Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Gap Up to $151.88

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $151.88, but opened at $156.30. Lennar shares last traded at $154.70, with a volume of 303,420 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Lennar Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $159.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.96.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Lennar by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% 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.