Lennar is a value play in a depressed group, given that the stock trades below its book value of around $90 a share. Lennar’s earnings have been depressed due to weakness in the housing market, and particularly in the entry-level market, where it generates substantial sales. The company’s average selling price was about $372,000 a house in the quarter ended in August.

Lennar’s profits in its third fiscal quarter ended in August were down almost 50%, to $1.19 a share. Lennar is expected to earn about $5 a share in its current fiscal year, down from about $8 a share in fiscal 2025 and $14 a share in fiscal 2024.

The Berkshire buys are probably being orchestrated by investment manager Ted  Weschler, who runs about 6% of the company’s $350 billion equity portfolio and reports to CEO Greg Abel.

Barron’s has written favorably on Lennar and suggested that Lennar would be a good acquisition target for Berkshire. Such a move, however, would require the approval of CEO Stuart Miller, who controls the company through ownership of most of Lennar’s super-voting class B shares. The Miller family has long controlled the Miami company, formed in the 1950s.

stocks.apple.com: Berkshire Hathaway Buys More Lennar Stock—and Now Owns 11% of the Homebuilder