Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $171.50.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEN. 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 note on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th.

Lennar Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE LEN opened at $140.89 on Friday. Lennar has a 52 week low of $128.41 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.37.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lennar will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar 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 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 accessible through this link. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted 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 worth $1,106,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 15.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $452,886,000 after buying an additional 396,951 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after acquiring an additional 89,896 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 428.9% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $362,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Lennar by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently 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.