Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) will release earnings for its first-quarter after the closing bell on Thursday, March 12.

Until then, some Lennar investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends. As of now, the company has an annual dividend yield of 2.07%, with a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share ($2.00 per year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $289,710 or around 3,000 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $57,942 or around 600 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($2.00 in this case). So, $6,000 / $2.00 = 3,000 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $2.00 = 600 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: Compute the dividend yield by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in dividend payments can affect the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

LEN Price Action: Shares of Lennar fell 2.2% to close at $96.57 on Wednesday.

On March 12, analysts expect the construction company to report quarterly earnings of 95 cents per share. That’s down from $2.14 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Lennar’s quarterly revenue is $6.9 billion (it reported $7.63 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Truist Securities analyst Jonathan Bettenhausen, on March 4, initiated coverage on Lennar. He also has a Hold rating and a $10 price target.

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