Argus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Argus from $140.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the construction company’s stock. Argus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 40.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Seaport Research Partners restated a “sell” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lennar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $99.87.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN opened at $88.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 4.77. Lennar has a 1 year low of $83.03 and a 1 year high of $144.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.47.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The construction company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.07). Lennar had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.39%.The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lennar will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $596,504,000 after purchasing an additional 603,004 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 86.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $279,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,068 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 12.0% during the fourth 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. raised its stake 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 valued at $201,835,000 after purchasing an additional 934,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 7.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 75,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.