Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Lennar (LEN) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Lennar (LEN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $48.52, moving -1.8% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.09%.

Coming into today, shares of the homebuilder had gained 5.51% in the past month. In that same time, the Construction sector lost 2.91%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.58%.

LEN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.32, down 5.71% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.53 billion, down 2.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.31 per share and revenue of $21.64 billion. These totals would mark changes of -16.38% and +5.21%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for LEN. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.15% lower. LEN is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, LEN is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.3. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.25, which means LEN is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that LEN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Building Products - Home Builders stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.13 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Building Products - Home Builders industry is part of the Construction sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 20, putting it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Lennar Corporation (LEN) - free report >>

Published in