Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $210.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.12% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LEN. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BTIG Research cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $181.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

Lennar Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE LEN opened at $138.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Lennar has a one year low of $135.21 and a one year high of $193.80. The firm has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 23,048.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,209,000 after purchasing an additional 149,812 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lennar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,991,000 after buying an additional 89,896 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 147.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after buying an additional 41,264 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 101.2% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lennar by 8.7% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,022,000 after acquiring an additional 8,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.