The most recent trading session ended with Lennar (LEN) standing at $107.81, reflecting a +1.52% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.44%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.27%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the homebuilder had gained 3.15% over the past month. This has lagged the Construction sector's gain of 11.65% and the S&P 500's gain of 10.62% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Lennar will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.98, showcasing a 41.42% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.3 billion, down 5.26% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $10.15 per share and a revenue of $36.09 billion, demonstrating changes of -26.77% and +1.84%, respectively, from the preceding year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Lennar. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.92% lower within the past month. At present, Lennar boasts a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

In the context of valuation, Lennar is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.47. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 8.84, which means Lennar is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that LEN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.9. 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. The average PEG ratio for the Building Products - Home Builders industry stood at 1.23 at the close of the market yesterday.

Story Continues

The Building Products - Home Builders industry is part of the Construction sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 225, placing it within the bottom 9% of over 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.

To follow LEN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Lennar Corporation (LEN):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

View Comments