Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Lennar from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James downgraded Lennar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $181.94.

Lennar Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $187.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,758,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,084,684. Lennar has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $193.80. The firm has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61. The business's fifty day moving average price is $178.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.71. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar by 5.5% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the second quarter valued at $6,069,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 21.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 165,931 shares of the construction company's stock worth $24,868,000 after acquiring an additional 28,938 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 10,726 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $904,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.