Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $196.00 to $150.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Lennar traded as low as $133.69 and last traded at $133.98, with a volume of 769954 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $135.06.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 4,225.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Lennar by 523.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.17. The company has a market capitalization of $36.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.66.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.