StockNews.com Downgrades Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Sell

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research lowered Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.07.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $113.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.94. Lennar has a 52 week low of $111.26 and a 52 week high of $187.61. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 204,431 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,149 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,586,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.