StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on Lennar from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Lennar from $103.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded Lennar from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Lennar in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Lennar from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $102.07.

Lennar Stock Performance

Lennar stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $103.50. 6,247,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,507. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.42. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $62.54 and a fifty-two week high of $109.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 7.82.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 15th. The construction company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 13.86%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 9.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 26th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,964,584 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $268,295,000 after purchasing an additional 91,639 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,690 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $268,123,000 after buying an additional 415,350 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,897,507 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,340,000 after buying an additional 632,255 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lennar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,398,505 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,019,000 after buying an additional 37,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,167,338 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $105,644,000 after buying an additional 268,156 shares during the last quarter. 82.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lennar

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Lennar Corp. engages in the provision of real estate related financial and investment management services. It operates through the following segments: Homebuilding East, Central, Texas, and West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other. The Homebuilding East, Central, Texas, and West segment constructs and sells homes primarily for first-time, move-up, and active adult homebuyers primarily under the Lennar brand name.