Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Monday.

LEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $122.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research raised Lennar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Lennar from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Lennar from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.77.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $119.97 on Monday. Lennar has a 52 week low of $98.42 and a 52 week high of $162.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $123.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.20. The company has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.38.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.01 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake in Lennar by 8.3% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,127 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Lennar by 2.1% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Lennar by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,595 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.