Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $121.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lennar traded as low as $128.21 and last traded at $126.00, with a volume of 19643 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $131.24.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LEN. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 5.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 49,237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 7.1% during the third quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Lennar by 12.2% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,147 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.21 and a 200 day moving average of $166.24.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

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.