The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its price objective decreased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $190.00 to $162.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the construction company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $225.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.19.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN stock opened at $138.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.51. Lennar has a 52 week low of $135.21 and a 52 week high of $193.80. The stock has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lennar will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lennar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Lennar by 428.9% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $362,685,000 after buying an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $452,886,000 after purchasing an additional 396,951 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Lennar by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 494,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,774,000 after purchasing an additional 356,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Lennar by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,084,000 after purchasing an additional 348,553 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.