Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Receives $163.88 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.88.

LEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $152.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.66 and a 200 day moving average of $141.89. Lennar has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 10.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,184 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Lennar by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,499 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Lennar by 172.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 9,440 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the first quarter worth $1,711,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the first quarter worth $200,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.