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Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Lennar Corporation (LEN) is a leading homebuilder in the United States with a market cap of $48.2 billion. The company focuses on the construction and sale of single-family homes while also participating in multifamily property development and offering various financial services.
Shares of Lennar have significantly outshone the broader market over the past 52 weeks. LEN has soared 48.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 28.1%. However, in 2024, shares of Lennar are up 16.8%, compared to SPX’s 17.3% gain on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, LEN has easily surpassed the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF’s (ITB) 13.5% gain over the past 52 weeks and 1.3% decline on a YTD basis.
On Aug. 19, LEN stock rose more than 1% after a recent Barron report suggested that U.S. home sales are expected to improve in the coming quarters. This optimism is driven by the expectation that long-term mortgage rates will decline toward 5% as the Federal Reserve makes progress in controlling inflation.
For the current fiscal year, ending in November, analysts expect Lennar’s EPS to fall marginally year over year to $14.16. However, the company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It beat the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters. Lenner surpassed the consensus earnings estimate by 5.6% in the last reported quarter.
Among the 18 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on eight “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” eight “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”
This configuration is less bullish than a month ago when ten analysts gave the stock a “Strong Buy.”
On Aug. 5, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) analyst Sam Reid raised the price target for Lennar from $185 to $195 while maintaining an "Overweight" rating on the stock.
While LEN currently trades above its mean price target of $173.58, its Street-high price target of $240 implies an impressive potential upside of 37.9% from the current price.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
