Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $3.34 Million in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,498 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,341,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Lennar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Lennar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Lennar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in Lennar by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $115.09 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $111.26 and a 12 month high of $187.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.53.

Lennar 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.