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

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LEN shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $159.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.96.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coastline Trust Co increased its holdings in Lennar by 80.8% in the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 24,515 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lennar by 6,297.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its position in Lennar by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 88,872 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,974,000 after buying an additional 12,469 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,367,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Lennar by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lennar

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.