Avestar Capital LLC Takes $222,000 Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,183 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 933.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 4,225.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Lennar by 223.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $174.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.62. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $125.17 and a twelve month high of $193.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Lennar from $177.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.29.

About Lennar

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.