Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Zelman & Associates

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zelman & Associates from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lennar from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.61.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $184.32 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $193.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 484.0% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lennar in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 223.6% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.