Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $141.54, but opened at $136.01. Lennar shares last traded at $134.93, with a volume of 778,702 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $181.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.50.

Lennar Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $151.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.66.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lennar by 69.4% during 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. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 933.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lennar

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.