Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases New Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 40,744 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,556,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Lennar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,106,798,000 after buying an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the 4th 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 period. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,991,000 after purchasing an additional 89,896 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $133,303,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $125.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.76. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $116.67 and a twelve month high of $187.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.88.

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.