Opinicus Capital Inc. Takes Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Opinicus Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,628 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LEN. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of LEN stock traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $154.29. 1,348,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,075,435. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.85. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $102.90 and a 1-year high of $172.59. The company has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.