Lennar's 3Q results top Street, delivers more homes

Lennar's fiscal third-quarter results topped analysts' estimates as it delivered more homes amid the ongoing recovery of the housing market.

Shares rose more than 2 percent before the market open on Tuesday.

Lennar's announcement of its quarterly performance comes on the same day that the Commerce Department reports on August U.S. home construction. Building activity has climbed this year, with steady job gains and low mortgage rates prompting more Americans to seek out homes.

Housing starts have increased 6.7 percent in 2016, with single-family houses leading the way. The rebound has been held in check by rising land and labor costs, leading many economists to project a sustained period of construction because demand is so strong.

For the period ended Aug. 31, Lennar Corp. earned $235.8 million, or $1.01 per share. A year earlier the Miami-based company earned $223.3 million, or 96 cents per share.

Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for earnings of 90 cents per share.

Revenue increased to $2.83 billion from $2.49 billion a year ago, beating the $2.69 billion that Wall Street called for.

Deliveries climbed 7 percent to 6,779 homes, while new orders rose 8 percent to 7,018 homes. Lennar also said that there was a 3 percent increase in the average sales price of homes delivered.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LEN.B at http://www.zacks.com/ap/LEN.B

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Keywords: Lennar, Earnings Report