Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $117.50 and last traded at $117.85, with a volume of 1531752 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays cut their price target on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.88.

Lennar Trading Down 1.5 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,116,558 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $834,115,000 after purchasing an additional 213,003 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Lennar by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,106,798,000 after buying an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after acquiring an additional 589,553 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Lennar by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $441,769,000 after acquiring an additional 515,378 shares during the period. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,991,000 after acquiring an additional 89,896 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.