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

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.88.

Several research firms recently issued reports on LEN. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 933.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 523.3% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $151.52 on Wednesday. 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 $41.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.97. Lennar has a 12 month low of $140.65 and a 12 month high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.32%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.25%.

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.