Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on LEN. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Argus lifted their price target on Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $181.94.

Lennar Stock Up 0.4 %

LEN stock opened at $188.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $193.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.16.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 484.0% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 223.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.