Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $196.00 to $150.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.31.

Lennar Stock Down 0.5 %

LEN traded down $0.72 on Monday, hitting $135.16. 1,402,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,765,102. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $36.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.40. Lennar has a twelve month low of $133.72 and a twelve month high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,106,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,886,000 after acquiring an additional 396,951 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after purchasing an additional 89,896 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 428.9% in the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $362,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,447 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Lennar by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.