Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $116.40 and last traded at $116.59, with a volume of 1041156 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $141.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.19.

Lennar Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.40.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.