Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,830,000 shares, a drop of 10.6% from the July 15th total of 6,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Lennar Price Performance

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Shares of NYSE:LEN traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,118,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,925. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $160.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.14. The company has a market capitalization of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $182.53.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.18. Lennar had a net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.57 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

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The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research cut their price target on Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James cut Lennar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush raised Lennar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.13.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on LEN

Insider Activity

In other Lennar news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 484.0% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Lennar in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 223.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 233 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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