Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. 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 an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Emerson Electric's shares before the 11th of May in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 9th of June.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.52 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$2.08 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Emerson Electric has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current share price of $84.4. 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 check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Emerson Electric
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Emerson Electric paid out a comfortable 42% of its profit last year. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Emerson Electric generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Dividends consumed 63% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.
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?
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 decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. For this reason, we're glad to see Emerson Electric's earnings per share have risen 15% per annum over the last five years. Emerson Electric is paying out a bit over half its earnings, which suggests the company is striking a balance between reinvesting in growth, and paying dividends. This is a reasonable combination that could hint at some further dividend increases in the future.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Emerson Electric has lifted its dividend by approximately 2.7% 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.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Emerson Electric for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share have grown at a nice rate in recent times and over the last year, Emerson Electric paid out less than half its earnings and a bit over half its free cash flow. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
In light of that, while Emerson Electric has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Emerson Electric you should be aware of.
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.
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