Weiss Asset Management LP Takes $7.35 Million Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 39,226 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,354,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 136.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $652,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 1.3% during the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 288,661 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,118,000 after buying an additional 117,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Miller Investment Management LP now owns 101,070 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,949,000 after buying an additional 10,199 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $164.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.66 and its 200 day moving average is $169.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $132.27 and a 1 year high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on LEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.29.

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.