Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LEN. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.61.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $182.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.99. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $193.80. The firm has a market cap of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 4.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter worth about $6,069,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 165,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,868,000 after acquiring an additional 28,938 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3.4% in the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 10,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the second quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter worth approximately $124,000. 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.