Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised Lennar from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James downgraded Lennar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Lennar from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lennar from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $169.13.

Lennar Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE LEN traded down $4.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.39. 2,827,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,164,995. The stock has a market cap of $46.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $157.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.93. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $182.53.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. On average, analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Executive Vice Preident Jeffrey Joseph McCall sold 10,000 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.11, for a total value of $1,701,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,179,979.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,707.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Executive Vice Preident Jeffrey Joseph McCall sold 10,000 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.11, for a total value of $1,701,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,179,979.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,176 shares of company stock valued at $4,841,039. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BBR Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 3.4% during the second quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 98.3% in the second quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 11.3% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 185,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,730 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 5.2% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the second quarter valued at about $377,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.