Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by BTIG Research

BTIG Research downgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lowered shares of Lennar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $181.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Lennar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LEN opened at $138.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Lennar has a 1-year low of $135.21 and a 1-year high of $193.80. The company has a market capitalization of $37.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.51.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 23,048.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,209,000 after purchasing an additional 149,812 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after buying an additional 89,896 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 147.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after buying an additional 41,264 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lennar by 101.2% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Lennar by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,022,000 after acquiring an additional 8,092 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

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.