Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.61.

Lennar Stock Down 5.3 %

NYSE LEN opened at $182.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $193.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.99.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Lennar by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,053 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 31,158 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.