Leuthold Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Leuthold Group LLC decreased its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,464 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,137 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $6,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,106,798,000 after buying an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after buying an additional 589,553 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after purchasing an additional 89,896 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Lennar by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Lennar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $133,303,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $120.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.49. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $117.90 and a 12 month high of $193.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.67.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LEN. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.88.

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.