Lennar Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LEN)

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 21,257 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 188% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,383 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEN. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lennar from $177.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.11.

Lennar Price Performance

Lennar stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.59. 599,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,051,043. The company’s fifty day moving average is $181.65 and its 200-day moving average is $167.45. The firm has a market cap of $46.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a 52 week low of $113.44 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.25%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Lennar by 933.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.