Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Rating Reiterated by Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $144.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LEN. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Lennar from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Lennar from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $172.69.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $185.91 on Wednesday. Lennar has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $186.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.93. The firm has a market cap of $51.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.96.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.18. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.57 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the second quarter worth about $6,069,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 165,931 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,868,000 after acquiring an additional 28,938 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA grew its holdings in Lennar by 3.4% during the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 10,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter worth $124,000. 81.10% of the stock is 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.