Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $125.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.65. The firm has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar has a 12-month low of $116.67 and a 12-month high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Lennar by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth about $39,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.