Short Interest in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Expands By 16.0%

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,970,000 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the February 13th total of 7,730,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Lennar by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,116,558 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $834,115,000 after purchasing an additional 213,003 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position 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 valued at $1,106,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Lennar by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $441,769,000 after purchasing an additional 515,378 shares during the period. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lennar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,991,000 after acquiring an additional 89,896 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Lennar stock traded up $2.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $120.55. 3,082,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,313,868. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar has a 1-year low of $115.61 and a 1-year high of $187.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.53.

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.