Seaport Research Partners Has Lowered Expectations for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Seaport Research Partners cut Lennar’s price target from $74 to $70 and maintained a “sell” rating, implying 14.19% downside from the prior close. Analysts overall remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an $81 target price.
• Lennar’s latest quarter missed expectations, reporting EPS of $1.23 versus $1.29 expected and revenue of $8.05 billion versus $8.32 billion expected. Revenue declined 8.7% year over year, while EPS fell from $2.29 in the prior-year period.
• Berkshire Hathaway increased its Lennar stake by purchasing 667,118 shares for about $51.9 million, while insiders bought more than 2.7 million shares over the past 90 days. Institutional investors own approximately 81.1% of the stock.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Seaport Research Partners from $74.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage presently has a "sell" rating on the construction company's stock. Seaport Research Partners' price objective suggests a potential downside of 14.19% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Argus set a $108.00 target price on Lennar in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Lennar from $107.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lennar Trading Down 1.8%

LEN opened at $81.58 on Monday. Lennar has a 52 week low of $75.70 and a 52 week high of $133.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.39.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lennar will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other Lennar news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 667,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $51,861,753.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,719,109 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,923,533.66. The trade was a 2.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,743,529 shares of company stock worth $212,403,202. 10.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position 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. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in Lennar by 90.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 601,468 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,231,000 after acquiring an additional 27,500 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 461,696 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,462,000 after acquiring an additional 43,186 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Lennar by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 445,407 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,788,000 after purchasing an additional 19,878 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway’s sizable investment supports sentiment. Berkshire purchased more than 2.7 million Lennar shares across several transactions and now owns approximately 10% of the homebuilder. The endorsement from Warren Buffett’s conglomerate is the primary catalyst behind recent strength in LEN shares. Berkshire builds almost a 10% stake in Lennar
• Positive Sentiment: Lennar declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. The dividend is payable October 22 to shareholders of record on October 7, representing $2.00 in annualized payments and an indicated yield of about 2.5%. Lennar Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: New housing projects indicate continued growth investment. Lennar is advancing developments in Sacramento’s South Natomas area and planning 95 townhomes in the next Pebble Creek phase, supporting its future community pipeline. Lennar pays $8 million for land in South Natomas
• Neutral Sentiment: Potentially easier Federal Reserve policy could help housing. Falling oil prices and easing inflation may create room for future rate cuts, which could improve mortgage affordability and support home demand, although this remains dependent on actual policy moves and borrowing costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target from $85 to $75 and assigned an “underperform” rating, implying downside from the stock’s recent trading level. Citigroup also lowered its target to $85. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Recent operating results remain weak. Lennar’s latest quarter missed consensus estimates on both earnings and revenue, with EPS falling to $1.23 from $2.29 a year earlier and revenue declining 8.7%. Housing-market strain continues to weigh on near-term fundamentals.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.