Short Interest in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Declines By 16.5%

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) was the target 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 trading volume of 3,977,342 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average trading 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.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN traded up $2.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.32. 3,613,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,421,261. Lennar has a 12-month low of $98.42 and a 12-month high of $144.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 4.89. The company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.44.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors 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 1.7%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research set a $90.00 target price on Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore ISI downgraded Lennar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,732,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $596,504,000 after acquiring an additional 603,004 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in Lennar by 86.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $279,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,068 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,154,892 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $145,563,000 after buying an additional 75,574 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 702,872 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,745,000 after buying an additional 29,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Lennar by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 578,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,968,000 after buying an additional 168,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Company Profile

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.