Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. BTIG Research cut shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.07.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $114.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.47. Lennar has a twelve month low of $111.26 and a twelve month high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

About Lennar

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.