Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Saturday . The stock traded as low as $111.26 and last traded at $115.09, with a volume of 12340777 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LEN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $152.00 to $141.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.53.

Lennar Trading Down 4.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.48. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,533,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Lennar by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $441,769,000 after purchasing an additional 515,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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. Institutional investors 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.