Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Raised to “Sector Perform” at Royal Bank of Canada

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) was upgraded by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $130.00 target price on the construction company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.64% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LEN. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.50.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $133.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.69. The stock has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $130.91 and a fifty-two week high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. Lennar’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4,225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 523.3% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is 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.