Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $101.73 and last traded at $103.01, with a volume of 5683584 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.07.

Lennar Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.88. 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 $27.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.