Bank of America Lowers Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $70.00

Key Points

• Bank of America cut Lennar’s price target from $77 to $70 and maintained an “underperform” rating, implying 12.36% downside from the stock’s $79.87 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Lennar has one Buy, eight Hold, and ten Sell ratings, resulting in an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $91.33.
• Lennar’s latest quarterly EPS of $1.31 beat estimates, but revenue fell 5.2% year over year to $7.94 billion; institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.1% of the stock.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Bank of America from $77.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underperform" rating on the construction company's stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential downside of 12.36% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on LEN. Evercore boosted their price target on Lennar from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. BTIG Research set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and ten have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $91.33.

Lennar Trading Up 0.3%

Lennar stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.87. 1,979,577 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,844,256. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.49. The company has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Lennar has a 52-week low of $76.63 and a 52-week high of $139.44.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 4.93%.Lennar's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lennar will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 86.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company's stock worth $279,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,068 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $201,835,000 after buying an additional 934,856 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Lennar by 1,303.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,383,000 after acquiring an additional 455,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $221,176,000 after purchasing an additional 419,745 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and communities for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, and active-adult purchasers.

Lennar operates across many of the country's major housing markets, including communities in the West, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and other metropolitan areas. Its homebuilding operations offer a variety of floor plans and home designs, while the company also develops residential communities and provides related services such as mortgage financing, title, and closing services through its financial-services businesses.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Lennar has expanded into multifamily development and other residential real-estate activities.

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