JMP Securities Boosts Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Price Target to $210.00

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its target price hoisted by JMP Securities from $170.00 to $210.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Lennar from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Lennar from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $181.94.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $187.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $178.25 and a 200-day moving average of $164.71. Lennar has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $193.80. The firm has a market cap of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lennar will post 14.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 13.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 428.9% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $362,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,447 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lennar by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,886,000 after purchasing an additional 396,951 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter worth about $61,807,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 157.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 575,003 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,889,000 after buying an additional 351,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 20.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,084,000 after buying an additional 348,553 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently 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.