Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Weak Earnings

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $135.21 and last traded at $140.29, with a volume of 1040813 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $145.93.

The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.82 earnings per share.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEN. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 428.9% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,886,000 after acquiring an additional 396,951 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 258.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 494,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,774,000 after purchasing an additional 356,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Lennar by 20.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,084,000 after purchasing an additional 348,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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.