Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $134.00 and last traded at $134.25, with a volume of 260676 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.19.

Lennar Stock Down 0.8 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.00. 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 company has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. Lennar’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Lennar by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,106,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Lennar by 15.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,886,000 after acquiring an additional 396,951 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lennar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,991,000 after acquiring an additional 89,896 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Lennar by 428.9% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $362,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,447 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 348,553 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.