Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

LEN has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.07.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $114.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $111.26 and a fifty-two week high of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.47.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Lennar by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 796 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,718 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Lennar by 3.7% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 147.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after acquiring an additional 41,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in Lennar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $133,303,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company’s homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.