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

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.30. 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 $41.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter worth about $5,592,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,431 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 3,682 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 92 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.