Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $82.55 and last traded at $83.6210, with a volume of 375032 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LEN. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Lennar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $89.00 to $82.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $99.87.

Lennar Trading Down 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.03.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.07). Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 73.9% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 993.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 129,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,321,000 after buying an additional 117,640 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lennar by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 466,027 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,738,000 after buying an additional 26,117 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 201.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 24,004 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,025,000 after buying an additional 16,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,599,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.