Raymond James Lowers Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Market Perform

Raymond James lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

LEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an underperform rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wedbush restated an underperform rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $166.69.

Lennar Price Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $143.28 on Tuesday. Lennar has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $172.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.35.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 29,176 shares of company stock valued at $4,841,039 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 4,554 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

About Lennar

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.