Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $130.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lennar traded as low as $117.90 and last traded at $121.07, with a volume of 259321 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.50.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Lennar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 1.0% in the third quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Down 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $135.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The firm has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.67.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s 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.