Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $80.30 and last traded at $80.4280, with a volume of 162608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Argus set a $108.00 target price on Lennar in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $74.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.80.

Lennar Trading Down 2.4%

The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 31.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in Lennar by 86.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after buying an additional 1,172,068 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in Lennar by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,835,000 after acquiring an additional 934,856 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 1,303.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,383,000 after acquiring an additional 455,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,176,000 after purchasing an additional 419,745 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

About Lennar

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.