JMP Securities Lowers Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $130.00

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price target trimmed by JMP Securities from $150.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

LEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lennar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.50.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock opened at $106.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.99. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.34. Lennar has a one year low of $98.42 and a one year high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.04). Lennar had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.73%. 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 business posted $3.45 EPS. Lennar’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 16.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Lennar by 44.6% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 16,638 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 47,783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,485,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its position in Lennar by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 15,742 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lennar

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.