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

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Lennar Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of LEN traded down $4.98 on Friday, hitting $115.09. 12,340,777 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,363,906. Lennar has a one year low of $111.26 and a one year high of $187.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.95%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lennar from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $141.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BTIG Research cut Lennar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar 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.