Lennar Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:LEN)

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the construction company on Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd.

Lennar has a dividend payout ratio of 17.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lennar to earn $15.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.9%.

Lennar Stock Performance

Lennar stock traded up $2.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.36. 5,779,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,674,888. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.33. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $187.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 3.65.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm's revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lennar will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LEN shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities cut their price objective on Lennar from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lennar

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Lennar stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,727 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Lennar were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company's homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.