Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.50 per share on the 18th of July. This means that the annual payment will be 1.9% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

Lennar's Projections Indicate Future Payments May Be Unsustainable

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, Lennar's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 34.0%. If the dividend continues on its recent course, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 98%, which is a bit high and could start applying pressure to the balance sheet.

Lennar Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was $0.157, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $2.00. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 29% a year over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. It's encouraging to see that Lennar has been growing its earnings per share at 13% a year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

Lennar Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Lennar might even raise payments in the future. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.