Shellback Capital LP Invests $2.05 Million in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Shellback Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,046,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $900,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,382 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lennar by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 16,501 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 167,182 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lennar from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.07.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $110.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.00. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $98.42 and a 1 year high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. Lennar’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 14.57%.

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.