Wedbush Reaffirms “Underperform” Rating for Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

Wedbush reiterated their underperform rating on shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $144.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LEN. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $154.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.56. Lennar has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,927,938.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lennar by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after acquiring an additional 366,983 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,681,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,611,000 after buying an additional 79,217 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,760,729 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $303,585,000 after buying an additional 60,713 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,550,371 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,067,000 after buying an additional 8,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lennar by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after acquiring an additional 484,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.