Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) issued its earnings results on Monday. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $104.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $107.89 and its 200 day moving average is $122.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 3.42. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $187.61.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 target price (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.07.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Lennar stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,840 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.