Lennar Co. (LEN) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 23rd

Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd.

Lennar has increased its dividend payment by an average of 33.9% per year over the last three years and has increased 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. Equities research 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 Down 1.5 %

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $150.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.54. The stock has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Lennar has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lennar will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LEN. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Lennar by 494.4% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the first quarter worth $104,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

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.