Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Down 3.4% - Here's Why

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $111.09 and last traded at $110.93. 838,021 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 3,185,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEN. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $128.00 to $114.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $128.85.

Lennar Trading Down 4.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $108.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.04). Lennar had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Lennar's payout ratio is 16.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Lennar by 45.4% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,894,125 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,020,866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,567 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,533,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in Lennar by 130.8% in the first quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,581,489 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $181,523,000 after acquiring an additional 896,264 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Lennar by 18.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,189,608 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $251,323,000 after buying an additional 415,218 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently 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.