Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $108.22 and last traded at $108.38, with a volume of 935716 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $115.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LEN shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.07.

Lennar Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The company has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.73.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors 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 1.85%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,533,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,110,000 after acquiring an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 valued at $441,769,000 after acquiring an additional 515,378 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 21.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 67.3% during the 4th quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 672,433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $88,116,000 after acquiring an additional 270,433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.