Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) is Smead Capital Management Inc.'s Largest Position

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,666,905 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 89,896 shares during the quarter. Lennar comprises approximately 7.1% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.98% of Lennar worth $499,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $452,886,000 after acquiring an additional 396,951 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 428.9% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $362,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $302,084,000 after acquiring an additional 348,553 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 655,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $98,220,000 after acquiring an additional 83,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 648,867 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $111,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company's stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Lennar stock traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $168.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,912,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,101. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $125.17 and a 12 month high of $193.80. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $178.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.56.

Lennar 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.