Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Lennar shares fell to a new 52-week low of $79.77, trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is bearish: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with 10 Sell, 8 Hold and 1 Buy recommendation, despite an average price target of $92.13.
• Recent quarterly results were mixed, with EPS of $1.31 beating estimates but revenue declining 5.2% year over year; Lennar also maintains a $2.00 annual dividend, yielding about 2.5%.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $79.77 and last traded at $80.1620, with a volume of 1385853 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LEN. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lennar from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lennar from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Lennar to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $92.13.

Lennar Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.27.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.30%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,135,000 after buying an additional 1,172,068 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company's stock worth $201,835,000 after acquiring an additional 934,856 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 1,303.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,383,000 after purchasing an additional 455,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company's stock worth $221,176,000 after buying 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 NYSE: LEN is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.

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