Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price objective decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $141.00 to $128.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LEN. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.07.

Lennar Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $118.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.79. The company has a market cap of $31.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar has a 12-month low of $111.26 and a 12-month high of $187.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,533,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after acquiring an additional 589,553 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Lennar by 18.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 515,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Lennar by 21.4% during the 4th 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 period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.