MIAMI (AP) - Lennar reported strong third-quarter earnings on an increase in deliveries and new orders as homebuilders continue to benefit from falling interest rates.
The Miami-based company said Wednesday that deliveries of homes increased 7% in the quarter and new orders were up 9%.
Last week, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales in the U.S. jumped 7.1% in August, as low mortgage rates pull buyers into the housing market. So far this year, sales have risen a healthy 6.4%.
Trade conflicts and slower economic growth have driven interest rates lower, giving home shoppers extra incentive to buy.
Lennar posted earnings of $513.4 million in the quarter, or $1.59 per share, easily surpassing Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.32 per share. Lennar had earnings of $453.2 million, or $1.37 per share, in the same quarter last year.
Lennar said its backlog of homes fell 2% last quarter.
The homebuilder posted a 3% increase in revenue over the same period last year, to $5.86 billion, which also beat Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.52 billion.
Lennar shares rose 3% in midday trading and are up 45% since the beginning of the year.
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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 at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LEN
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