Lennar Stock Drop Looks Sharp, But How Deep Can It Go?

LEN: Lennar logo
LEN
Lennar

Lennar (LEN) stock is down 20.0% in 21 trading days. The recent slide reflects concerns around Lennar’s Q4 profit miss and squeezed margins from sales incentives amid a tough housing market, but sharp drops often raise a tougher question: is the weakness temporary, or a sign of deeper cracks in the story?

Before judging its downturn reslience, let’s look at where Lennar stands today.

  • Size: Lennar is a $27 Bil company with $35 Bil in revenue currently trading at $104.90.
  • Fundamentals: Last 12 month revenue growth of -4.7% and operating margin of 10.0%.
  • Liquidity: Has Debt to Equity ratio of 0.2 and Cash to Assets ratio of 0.05
  • Valuation: Lennar stock is currently trading at P/E multiple of 10.0 and P/EBIT multiple of 7.7
  • Has one instance since 2010 where it dipped >30% in < 30 days and subsequently returned -2.1% within a year. See LEN Dip Buy Analysis.

These metrics point to a Weak operational performance, alongside Very Low valuation – making the stock Fairly Priced. For details, see Buy or Sell LEN Stock

That brings us to the key consideration for investors worried about this fall: how resilient is LEN stock if markets turn south? This is where our downturn resilience framework comes in. Suppose LEN stock falls another 20-30% to $73 – can investors comfortably hold on? Turns out, the stock has fared worse than the S&P 500 index during various economic downturns, based on (a) how much the stock fell and, (b) how quickly it recovered. Below, we dive deeper into each such downturn.

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2022 Inflation Shock

  • LEN stock fell 44.8% from a high of $116.91 on 10 December 2021 to $64.49 on 16 June 2022 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500.
  • However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 15 June 2023
  • Since then, the stock increased to a high of $192.45 on 19 September 2024 , and currently trades at $104.90

  LEN S&P 500
% Change from Pre-Recession Peak -44.8% -25.4%
Time to Full Recovery 364 days 464 days

 
2020 Covid Pandemic

  • LEN stock fell 58.8% from a high of $71.22 on 11 February 2020 to $29.35 on 23 March 2020 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500.
  • However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 27 July 2020

  LEN S&P 500
% Change from Pre-Recession Peak -58.8% -33.9%
Time to Full Recovery 126 days 148 days

 
2018 Correction

  • LEN stock fell 47.0% from a high of $71.82 on 19 January 2018 to $38.06 on 24 December 2018 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 19.8% for the S&P 500.
  • However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 27 July 2020

  LEN S&P 500
% Change from Pre-Recession Peak -47.0% -19.8%
Time to Full Recovery 581 days 120 days

 
2008 Global Financial Crisis

  • LEN stock fell 93.5% from a high of $56.11 on 2 February 2007 to $3.64 on 21 November 2008 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 56.8% for the S&P 500.
  • However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 4 October 2017

  LEN S&P 500
% Change from Pre-Recession Peak -93.5% -56.8%
Time to Full Recovery 3,239 days 1,480 days

 
Feeling jittery about LEN stock? Consider portfolio approach.

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