Yahoo Finance Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon
Readers hoping to buy Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Investors can purchase shares before the 5th of February in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of February.
Reinsurance Group of America's next dividend payment will be US$0.70 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$2.80 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Reinsurance Group of America has a trailing yield of approximately 1.9% on its current stock price of $144.05. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to investigate whether Reinsurance Group of America can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
View our latest analysis for Reinsurance Group of America
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Reinsurance Group of America paid out just 19% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances.
Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.
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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see Reinsurance Group of America earnings per share are up 7.0% per annum over the last five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Reinsurance Group of America has delivered 23% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. 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
Is Reinsurance Group of America worth buying for its dividend? Reinsurance Group of America has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. Overall, Reinsurance Group of America looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.
Wondering what the future holds for Reinsurance Group of America? See what the five analysts we track 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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
