Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Lowered to “Neutral” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $174.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $180.00.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LEN. StockNews.com upgraded Lennar from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James cut shares of Lennar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a neutral rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $174.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $167.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $168.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.72 and a 200-day moving average of $156.53. The company has a market cap of $46.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.60. Lennar has a one year low of $102.90 and a one year high of $177.79.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Executive Vice Preident Jeffrey Joseph McCall sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.11, for a total value of $1,701,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,629 shares in the company, valued at $20,179,979.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,707.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,176 shares of company stock worth $4,841,039 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Lennar by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Lennar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 1.5% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.