Royal Bank of Canada Increases Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $160.00

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Raymond James lowered shares of Lennar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $181.94.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $183.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90. Lennar has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $193.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.67 and a 200-day moving average of $164.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.13 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEN. Boston Partners raised its position in Lennar by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after buying an additional 4,207 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 177.3% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 31,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,659,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its position in Lennar by 331.8% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 12,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 9,246 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $838,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,592,000. 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.