Yahoo Finance ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend
Readers hoping to buy ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Thus, you can purchase ConocoPhillips' shares before the 15th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.46 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$4.44 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that ConocoPhillips has a trailing yield of 4.6% on the current share price of $95.98. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for ConocoPhillips
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. ConocoPhillips is paying out just 19% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether ConocoPhillips generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 19% of its cash flow last year.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see ConocoPhillips has grown its earnings rapidly, up 29% a year for the past five years. ConocoPhillips looks like a real growth company, with earnings per share growing at a cracking pace and the company reinvesting most of its profits in the business.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, ConocoPhillips has increased its dividend at approximately 5.3% a year on average. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
The Bottom Line
Is ConocoPhillips worth buying for its dividend? It's great that ConocoPhillips is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Be aware that ConocoPhillips is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...
Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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