Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) shares traded down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $181.03 and last traded at $181.94. 245,619 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,066,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JMP Securities upped their target price on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.94.

Lennar Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.47. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 15.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,084,000 after acquiring an additional 348,553 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 60,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP raised its position in Lennar by 14.6% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 655,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,220,000 after purchasing an additional 83,316 shares in the last quarter. 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.