Two Sigma Advisers LP Acquires 113,100 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1,163.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,820 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Lennar were worth $16,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Lennar by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,382 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Lennar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 167,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Lennar by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,377 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 6,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LEN. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.07.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $105.74 on Thursday. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $187.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.16 and its 200 day moving average is $131.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. 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.