Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Lennar's stock price opened at $123.00, up from a previous close of $117.41, with recent trading volume reported at 1,231,036 shares.
• After recent earnings results showed a lower than expected revenue, analysts have mixed ratings on the stock; with one Strong Buy, three Buy, and thirteen Hold ratings.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, set for payment on October 27th, representing an annual yield of 1.7%.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $117.41, but opened at $123.00. Lennar shares last traded at $119.82, with a volume of 1,231,036 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LEN shares. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.42.

Lennar Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $129.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.47.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The construction company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.01 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 7.72%.Lennar's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 27th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Lennar by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the construction company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lennar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. CX Institutional grew its position in Lennar by 20.0% in the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 12,914 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in Lennar by 49.4% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 644 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the first quarter valued at $424,000. Institutional investors 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.

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