Spinoff will build on Lennar’s big jump

Article Excerpt

Lennar is up nearly 40% since the start of 2021, partly because COVID-19 has spurred demand for new houses in suburban areas as more people work from home. Home buyers are also taking advantage of low interest rates to upgrade their homes. We feel these trends will continue to spur the stock higher in the next few years. That’s on top of the expected benefits of its upcoming spinoff. LENNAR CORP. $102 is a buy. The company (New York symbol LEN; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 313.4 million; Market cap: $32.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.dupont.com) is one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S. It also operates a mortgage financing business and develops multi-family rental properties. In February 2018, Lennar acquired rival homebuilder Cal Atlantic Group Inc. for $6.2 billion in cash and stock. Thanks to that purchase, Lennar’s revenue jumped 105.4%, from $10.95 billion in 2016 to $22.49 billion in 2020 (fiscal years end November 30). Earnings during those five years…