Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $80.30 and last traded at $80.4280, with a volume of 162608 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $82.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. BTIG Research set a $67.00 price objective on Lennar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $104.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.80.

Lennar Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.13.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 31.30%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 86.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its stake in Lennar by 90.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 934,856 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 455,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 19.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,176,000 after purchasing an additional 419,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

About Lennar

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.