Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $171.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $140.89 on Friday. Lennar has a twelve month low of $128.41 and a twelve month high of $193.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $38.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.15 and its 200 day moving average is $167.37.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Lennar by 4,225.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.