Cannell & Spears LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 514,970 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,311 shares during the quarter. Lennar makes up approximately 1.4% of Cannell & Spears LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $70,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Down 3.5 %

Lennar stock opened at $113.83 on Monday. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $111.26 and a one year high of $187.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.05 and a 200 day moving average of $150.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The stock has a market cap of $30.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.07.

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.