The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $162.00

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $190.00 to $162.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Lennar from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.19.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $138.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar has a 52 week low of $135.21 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.45.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced 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 company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Lennar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 2.5% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

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.