Yahoo Finance Genpact Limited (NYSE:G) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Genpact Limited (NYSE:G) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 6th of December will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of December.
Genpact's next dividend payment will be US$0.085 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.34 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Genpact has a trailing yield of 0.8% on the current share price of $40.93. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Genpact can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for Genpact
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Genpact is paying out just 21% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. The good news is it paid out just 19% of its free cash flow in the 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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see Genpact earnings per share are up 9.7% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been increasing steadily and management is reinvesting almost all of the profits back into the business. This is an attractive combination, because when profits are reinvested effectively, growth can compound, with corresponding benefits for earnings and dividends in the future.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last three years, Genpact has lifted its dividend by approximately 12% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Has Genpact got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Genpact is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. We would prefer to see earnings growing faster, but the best dividend stocks over the long term typically combine significant earnings per share growth with a low payout ratio, and Genpact is halfway there. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
Curious what other investors think of Genpact? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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