Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The construction company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.39, Briefing.com reports. Lennar had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company had revenue of $8.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.18 earnings per share. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Lennar updated its Q4 guidance to $4.40-4.75 EPS and its Q4 2023 guidance to $4.40-$4.75 EPS.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN stock opened at $114.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 7.09 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.50. Lennar has a 1-year low of $69.90 and a 1-year high of $133.24.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 10.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on LEN shares. Raymond James raised shares of Lennar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $127.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $148.00 to $139.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy Banse bought 859 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $117.65 per share, for a total transaction of $101,061.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,555.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Lennar news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.48, for a total value of $1,264,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,386 shares in the company, valued at $17,882,501.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Banse acquired 859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $117.65 per share, for a total transaction of $101,061.35. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,555.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,634 shares of company stock worth $321,855. 9.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lennar by 551.1% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,824,684 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $191,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544,432 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Lennar by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,479 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $88,134,000 after purchasing an additional 171,065 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 790,021 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $64,127,000 after buying an additional 312,595 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Lennar by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 535,325 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,447,000 after buying an additional 233,455 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Lennar by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 457,801 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,160,000 after buying an additional 13,101 shares during the period. 79.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.