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

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $73.75 and last traded at $74.3080, with a volume of 10653331 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.81.

More Lennar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway continued buying Lennar. Berkshire acquired more than 2.4 million Lennar shares in transactions disclosed for October 1 and 2, investing approximately $193 million. Its stake has risen to roughly 12%, signaling confidence in Lennar’s long-term valuation despite near-term housing weakness. Berkshire Buys More Lennar Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and volume-focused strategy could support the shares. Coverage highlighted that Lennar trades below book value, while the company is emphasizing higher home deliveries, lower costs and faster construction cycles to address affordability challenges. This strategy could protect demand, though it may come at the expense of margins. Lennar Volume Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor law firms announced investigations. Frank R. Cruz and Bragar Eagel & Squire said they are investigating potential federal securities-law violations following an October 2 Hunterbrook Media report. The announcements are not findings of wrongdoing, but they increase headline and litigation risk for Lennar. Lennar Securities Fraud Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Mortgage rates are approaching 7.5%. Higher borrowing costs are worsening housing affordability and forcing builders to use incentives or accept lower margins to keep buyers engaged. Mortgage Rates Near 7.5 Percent
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains bearish. Melius Research initiated coverage with a Sell rating and a $72 price target, while the broader analyst consensus is Reduce. Lennar’s latest quarter also missed estimates, with EPS of $1.23 versus $1.29 expected and revenue down 8.7% year over year. Lennar Analyst Coverage

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lennar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and ten have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $79.00.

Lennar Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.14 and a 200 day moving average of $86.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%.The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 37.81%.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,708,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 28,438,045 shares in the company, valued at $2,259,118,294.80. The trade was a 6.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,178 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after purchasing an additional 38,822 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at $6,437,000. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 6,292.5% in the second quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 328,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,681,000 after purchasing an additional 322,869 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Lennar in the second quarter valued at about $5,295,000. Finally, Myriad Asset Management Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,511,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a homebuilding company that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and, through its multifamily operations, develops apartment communities. Its residential offerings generally include homes across a range of sizes and prices, serving first-time, move-up and active-adult buyers.

The company also provides related services through businesses involved in mortgage financing, title and closing services, insurance and other real estate activities. Lennar develops residential communities and manages land acquisition, planning and construction as part of its integrated homebuilding model.

Founded in 1954, Lennar has expanded from its origins in South Florida into a national homebuilder serving numerous markets across the United States.