Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Lennar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.50.

Lennar Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $106.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 3.65. Lennar has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lennar by 45.4% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,894,125 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,020,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,567 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $218,533,000. Eminence Capital LP increased its position in Lennar by 130.8% during the first quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,581,489 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $181,523,000 after acquiring an additional 896,264 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $441,769,000 after acquiring an additional 515,378 shares during the period. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 23.4% during the first quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,189,608 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,323,000 after acquiring an additional 415,218 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.