Citigroup Cuts Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $85.00

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $88.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LEN. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Argus set a $108.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Lennar Price Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $81.58 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.76. Lennar has a 52 week low of $75.70 and a 52 week high of $133.76. The stock has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%.The business’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lennar will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 667,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $51,861,753.32. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 23,719,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,923,533.66. The trade was a 2.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 2,743,529 shares of company stock valued at $212,403,202. Insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEN. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in Lennar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 10,560 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 1.3% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,879 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 5.4% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,926 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 0.4% in the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,815 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 4.8% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway accumulated approximately $212 million of Lennar shares. Berkshire bought 2.74 million shares across September 17–21, lifting its stake to roughly 10%. The purchases may support investor confidence by signaling that Berkshire sees long-term value in Lennar’s depressed valuation. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Lennar declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. The dividend for both Class A and Class B shares is payable October 22 to shareholders of record October 7, providing continued shareholder returns and an annualized payout of $2.00 per share. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: New land investments provide longer-term growth opportunities. Lennar paid $8 million for land in Sacramento’s South Natomas area and is advancing a 95-townhome project in Pebble Creek. These developments expand its pipeline but are unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. South Natomas land purchase
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results missed expectations. Lennar reported EPS of $1.23 versus the $1.29 consensus, while revenue fell 8.7% year over year to $8.05 billion, below the $8.32 billion estimate. Heavy incentives are protecting affordability but weighing on margins and profitability. Lennar earnings call summary
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut its annual delivery forecast. Lennar now expects to deliver 80,000–81,000 homes, down from 82,000–83,000 previously, underscoring the impact of high mortgage rates and weak housing affordability. Delivery forecast article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious. Citigroup lowered its price target to $85 from $88, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its target to $75 and assigned an “underperform” rating. These actions reinforce concerns about demand, margins and near-term housing conditions. Citigroup price-target article

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and communities for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, and active-adult purchasers.

Lennar operates across many of the country’s major housing markets, including communities in the West, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and other metropolitan areas. Its homebuilding operations offer a variety of floor plans and home designs, while the company also develops residential communities and provides related services such as mortgage financing, title, and closing services through its financial-services businesses.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Lennar has expanded into multifamily development and other residential real-estate activities.