Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.07.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock opened at $149.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.78. The stock has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 4.93, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Lennar has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,176 shares of company stock valued at $4,841,039. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Lennar by 6,297.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 47.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 5.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after purchasing an additional 366,983 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the first quarter worth $61,807,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 157.5% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 575,003 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,889,000 after purchasing an additional 351,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.