Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.1429.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEN. Truist Financial started coverage on Lennar in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lennar from $115.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Lennar to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Lennar Price Performance

Lennar stock opened at $92.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.00. Lennar has a 12 month low of $92.17 and a 12 month high of $144.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.89 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.03%.

Trending Headlines about Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong liquidity and low leverage should help Lennar weather a weak cycle — LEN still shows ample current liquidity and a low debt-to-equity profile, which reduces near-term balance-sheet risk. QuiverQuant: LEN Q1 coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend yield and income strategies could attract yield-focused buyers amid the pullback (Lennar pays around a 2% yield). Benzinga: dividend strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed — recent reports show a wide range of price targets and several underweight ratings alongside a few buys; that divergence leaves near-term sentiment split. QuiverQuant: analyst ratings & targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader builder-stock weakness is amplifying pressure on Lennar even when data is mixed — sector peers have also been underperforming. Barron’s: builder stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed expectations — reported EPS around $0.88 vs. roughly $0.96 consensus and revenue fell (~13% YoY to about $6.6B), both below estimates. That miss is the primary driver of the selloff. Zacks: LEN lags Q1 estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management cited a tough housing market, lower average sale prices and continued incentive/margin pressure — investors worry about how long incentives and rate-sensitive demand will persist. WSJ: sales fall as market persists
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy selling pressure and a post-earnings downtrend — LEN hit near multi-year lows on the print and traded above-average volume, increasing downside risk while sentiment re-prices. Schaeffers: post-earnings streak
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming and prior analyst downgrades add pressure — several big managers pared LEN positions and some firms have issued underweight ratings in recent months. QuiverQuant: institutional moves & ratings

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 14.6% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,732,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $596,504,000 after acquiring an additional 603,004 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,172,068 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,127,225 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,681,000 after purchasing an additional 228,247 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 90.9% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 934,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 7.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,154,892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,563,000 after buying an additional 75,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.