Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.56.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.17. 1,821,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,918,648. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.62. Lennar has a 52 week low of $125.17 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.07 and a 200 day moving average of $169.20.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.91 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar's payout ratio is 13.25%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEN. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 12,872 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,413,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Lennar by 13.0% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 104,590 shares of the construction company's stock worth $19,609,000 after purchasing an additional 11,998 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth $1,356,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,546 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $376,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

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.