Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Down 3.4% – Should You Sell?

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s share price traded down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $167.19 and last traded at $167.65. 442,599 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,025,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.29.

Lennar Trading Down 3.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Lennar by 523.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.