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

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.19.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. JMP Securities upped their target price on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $225.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $138.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $168.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.45. Lennar has a 1 year low of $135.21 and a 1 year high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 8.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,650 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 5.7% in the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at $405,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $181,000. 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.