Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 13,763 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 44% compared to the typical volume of 9,578 call options.

Lennar Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of LEN stock traded down $1.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.70. 1,510,287 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,296,506. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.53 and a 200 day moving average of $90.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Lennar has a 1 year low of $71.78 and a 1 year high of $133.76. The firm has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 37.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on Lennar from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $78.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,708,095 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,118,294.80. This trade represents a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 7,502,276 shares of company stock valued at $595,303,287. Insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lennar by 3,980.2% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,114 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744 shares during the period. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 8,019 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 410 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $943,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation is a U.S. homebuilder that designs, builds and sells homes in communities across many major housing markets in the country. Its offerings include single-family homes and townhomes, with options and designs aimed at a range of homebuyers. The company also provides services that support home purchases, including mortgage financing and title and closing services. Lennar traces its roots to a homebuilding business founded in Miami in 1954 and has expanded its operations across the United States.