Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Stock Price

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $58.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the construction company’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 33.09% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LEN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Lennar from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a “sell” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Argus set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and eleven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $78.87.

Lennar Stock Down 4.8%

NYSE:LEN traded down $4.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $86.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,588,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,272,755. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.36. Lennar has a one year low of $71.78 and a one year high of $133.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $81.17 and its 200-day moving average is $91.43.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,708,095 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 28,438,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,118,294.80. This represents a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,502,276 shares of company stock valued at $595,303,287 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 1.3% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,879 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 0.4% during the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,815 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Lennar by 4.8% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.