Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) reported its fiscal second-quarter results Wednesday before the markets opened as $0.79 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.39 billion in revenue. That compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $0.64 in EPS on $2.02 billion in revenue.
EPS grew 29.5% from the same quarter in the previous year, which had earnings of $0.61 per share. At the same time, revenue grew 31.3% from $1.82 billion in the previous year.
Despite severe weather conditions that constrained production and sales in parts of the country, the housing market continued its slow and steady recovery in the first quarter. Earlier signals from this year’s spring selling season indicate that the housing market is improving, and so disappointing single-family starts and permits numbers should rebound shortly.
The housing market has continued to build momentum, reflected by the Commerce Department reporting on Tuesday that new home sales climbed 2.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000, the strongest pace since February 2008.
Separately, the National Association of Realtors noted that existing home sales increased 5.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million.
In this past quarter, Lennar’s home deliveries rose 21%, with new orders up 18%. Much of the increased home buying activity flows from a stronger job market and relatively affordable mortgage rates.
Shares of Lennar closed Tuesday down 1% at $49.00. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were up 4% at $50.95 in Wednesday’s early trading indications. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $51.24 and a 52-week trading range of $35.74 to $53.67.
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