StockNews.com Upgrades Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

LEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.07.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,425,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,831. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.35 and a 200 day moving average of $141.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $187.61.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is 14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in Lennar by 33.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 5,214 shares of the construction company's stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 4.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the construction company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the first quarter valued at about $669,000. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 4.8% in the first quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the construction company's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Lennar by 8.5% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 100,259 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,508,000 after purchasing an additional 7,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.