Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Cut to "Sell" at StockNews.com

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LEN. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and issued a $131.00 target price (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.07.

Remove Ads

Lennar Stock Down 1.2 %

LEN traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.40. 149,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,474,350. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.51 and a 200 day moving average of $150.47. Lennar has a 12-month low of $111.26 and a 12-month high of $187.61. The firm has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. Lennar's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Lennar by 147.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,226 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,978,000 after buying an additional 41,264 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at $900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company's stock worth $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 14,327 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,686,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.