Brokerages Set Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) PT at $163.88

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.88.

LEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $125.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.11 and a 200 day moving average of $157.49. Lennar has a 12 month low of $116.67 and a 12 month high of $187.61. The firm has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lennar by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,116,558 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $834,115,000 after acquiring an additional 213,003 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lennar by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,106,798,000 after acquiring an additional 73,638 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after acquiring an additional 589,553 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Lennar by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $441,769,000 after acquiring an additional 515,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after acquiring an additional 89,896 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.