Why Lennar Corporation Stock Slid After Hours

Lennar Corporation LEN shares are trading lower in Thursday's after-hours session on the heels of the company's fourth-quarter earnings. Here's what you need to know.

What To Know: Lennar reported quarterly earnings of $5.17 per share, topping estimates of $4.59, a 2.99% increase over earnings of $5.02 per share from the same period last year.

The company reported quarterly sales of $10.97 billion which exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $10.22 billion, a 7.81% increase over sales of $10.17 billion the same period last year.

Revenues from home sales grew 8% to $10.4 billion, from $9.7 billion in the same quarter in 2022, attributed to a 19% increase in the number of home deliveries, reaching 23,795 homes. The company stated the figure was partially offset by a 9% decline in the average sales price of homes delivered.

Additionally, the company had $6.3 billion of Homebuilding cash and cash equivalents on Nov. 30.

While first-quarter net orders are expected to be between 17,500 and 18,000, the company decided to not provide a full-year margin outlook due to the changing landscape for interest rates.

Furthermore, Lennar stated it will allocate capital to lower debt as it comes due and raise its share repurchase target to $2 billion in 2024.

Stuart Miller, executive chairman and co-CEO of Lennar, said, "We are pleased to report another strong quarter and year-end, against the backdrop of evolving, though constructive, market conditions. During our fourth quarter, the economic environment shifted as interest rates rose for most of the quarter, and then subsided. Higher interest rates tested homebuyer sentiment, although purchasers remained responsive to incentives that enabled affordability."

"The well-documented production deficit and chronic supply shortage continued to result in housing demand outweighing short supply. These conditions remained constructive for our overall operating strategy of focusing on production and sales pace over price, generating strong cash flow, increasing returns on equity and assets, and driving a strong bottom line."

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LEN Price Action: Shares of LEN were down 3.16% at $149.92 in the after-hours session at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro. 

Photo: Paul Brennan from Pixabay