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

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $146.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $97.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lennar from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.75.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $123.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.96 and a 200-day moving average of $119.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.33. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The construction company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.01 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 77.7% during the first quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 3,649 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the period. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in Lennar during the second quarter worth approximately $408,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 199.9% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 31,187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 20,787 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 11,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Finally, Circle Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter worth $462,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.