Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Share Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $80.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $91.10 and traded as high as $93.89. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lennar shares last traded at $91.9950, with a volume of 7,358,791 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Lennar from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Argus set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and eleven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $78.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,708,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,118,294.80. This represents a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 7,502,276 shares of company stock valued at $595,303,287. Insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polaris Financial Partners bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 100.0% in the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.10. The company has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.81%.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.