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

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd.

Lennar has raised its dividend by an average of 33.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Lennar has a dividend payout ratio of 12.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lennar to earn $16.25 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 12.3%.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $159.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,042,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,104,633. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.58. Lennar has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lennar will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lennar from $138.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Lennar during the second quarter worth $46,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 494.4% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 737 shares of the construction company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lennar

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.