Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Short Interest Down 16.5% in January

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,810,795 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the December 31st total of 10,556,282 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,977,342 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,977,342 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $26,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lennar from $133.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Lennar Price Performance

Lennar stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $108.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 438,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,241,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.44. Lennar has a twelve month low of $98.42 and a twelve month high of $144.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 16th. The construction company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 6.08%.The business’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.03 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.03%.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.