JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Outperform Rating for Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $170.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LEN. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, November 27th. They set a hold rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lennar from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $160.31.

Lennar Trading Up 0.0 %

Lennar stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,022,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,050. Lennar has a 12-month low of $100.95 and a 12-month high of $167.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 5.47.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lennar will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Lennar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 37,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total value of $5,460,559.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,736,427.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Diane J. Bessette sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $1,477,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 260,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,491,937.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Sustana sold 37,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $5,460,559.52. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,736,427.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 49.9% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,388 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Lennar by 16.3% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 88,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,974,000 after buying an additional 12,469 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 7.0% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 4,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at about $360,000. Institutional investors own 79.87% 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.