Yahoo Finance Interested In Murphy Oil's (NYSE:MUR) Upcoming US$0.17 Dividend? You Have Three Days Left
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Thus, you can purchase Murphy Oil's shares before the 13th of May in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of June.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.17 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.70 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Murphy Oil stock has a trailing yield of around 1.8% on the current share price of $38.27. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Murphy Oil's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Murphy Oil
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Its dividend payout ratio is 79% of profit, which means the company is paying out a majority of its earnings. The relatively limited profit reinvestment could slow the rate of future earnings growth. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 9.6% of its cash flow last year.
It's positive to see that Murphy Oil'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?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see Murphy Oil's earnings per share have dropped 29% a year over the past five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Murphy Oil has seen its dividend decline 4.4% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Is Murphy Oil worth buying for its dividend? The payout ratios are within a reasonable range, implying the dividend may be sustainable. Declining earnings are a serious concern, however, and could pose a threat to the dividend in future. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Murphy Oil's dividend merits.
So if you want to do more digging on Murphy Oil, you'll find it worthwhile knowing the risks that this stock faces. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Murphy Oil and you should be aware of them before buying any shares.
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
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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.
