Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $125.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform 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.

LEN has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research cut shares of Lennar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $143.33 and its 200 day moving average is $165.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm's revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.