Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,619 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,505 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Lennar worth $32,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after buying an additional 589,553 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lennar by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after acquiring an additional 397,492 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,303,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 691,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $129,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $115,229,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $113.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $111.26 and a one year high of $187.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 target price (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.07.

Lennar Company 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.