Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $99.8667.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore cut their price objective on Lennar from $89.00 to $82.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lennar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lennar from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lennar from $122.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Lennar from $113.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th.

Lennar Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:LEN opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. Lennar has a twelve month low of $81.18 and a twelve month high of $144.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.25. The company has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.39.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The company’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lennar will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.