Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

LEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Wedbush raised Lennar from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup restated a neutral rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $174.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $167.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $176.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.88. The company has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. Lennar has a one year low of $102.90 and a one year high of $178.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.93.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total value of $1,512,938.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total value of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at $2,764,707.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total value of $1,627,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,176 shares of company stock worth $4,841,039 over the last 90 days. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Lennar by 3.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,550,371 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,067,000 after acquiring an additional 8,008 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 648,867 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $111,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,483 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 15.9% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 610,549 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,503,000 after purchasing an additional 83,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Lennar by 157.5% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 575,003 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,889,000 after purchasing an additional 351,698 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.