Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Morgan Stanley

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $58.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on LEN. Citigroup cut their price target on Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lennar from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Benchmark raised shares of Lennar to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $78.87.

Lennar Stock Down 0.5%

LEN stock opened at $91.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.97. Lennar has a 12 month low of $71.78 and a 12 month high of $133.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lennar will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 37.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,708,095 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $79.44 per share, with a total value of $135,691,066.80. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 28,438,045 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,118,294.80. This trade represents a 6.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287. Corporate insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth $102,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Lennar by 21.9% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Lennar by 3.4% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,140 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Lennar by 97.7% during the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Lennar by 16.1% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 48,322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,943,000 after acquiring an additional 6,695 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.