Yahoo Finance Income Investors Should Know That General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 8th of April will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of May.
General Mills's next dividend payment will be US$0.49 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.96 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, General Mills has a trailing yield of approximately 3.6% on its current stock price of $54.88. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether General Mills's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for General Mills
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. General Mills paid out more than half (56%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 48% of its free cash flow in the past year.
It's positive to see that General Mills's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. This is why it's a relief to see General Mills earnings per share are up 3.9% per annum over the last five years. Earnings growth has been slim and the company is paying out more than half of its earnings. While there is some room to both increase the payout ratio and reinvest in the business, generally the higher a payout ratio goes, the lower a company's prospects for future growth.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last ten years, General Mills has lifted its dividend by approximately 7.6% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
To Sum It Up
Has General Mills got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share growth has been modest and General Mills paid out over half of its profits and less than half of its free cash flow, although both payout ratios are within normal limits. In summary, it's hard to get excited about General Mills from a dividend perspective.
In light of that, while General Mills has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for General Mills you should know about.
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top 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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