Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Upgraded by Zelman & Associates to “Outperform”

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zelman & Associates from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lennar from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.61.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $184.32 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $176.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.01. 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 $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a one year low of $102.90 and a one year high of $193.80.

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

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lennar by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $452,886,000 after purchasing an additional 396,951 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 428.9% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $362,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Lennar by 20.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,084,000 after buying an additional 348,553 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lennar by 3.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,760,729 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $303,585,000 after buying an additional 60,713 shares during the period. Finally, Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in Lennar by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 655,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,220,000 after acquiring an additional 83,316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.