Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $120.07, but opened at $112.97. Lennar shares last traded at $112.56, with a volume of 1,569,496 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.53.

Lennar Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $30.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.95%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $131,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Lennar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Lennar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,955,000. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Lennar by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 10,793 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.