Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
It looks like Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 2 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 26th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of September.
Westlake Chemical's upcoming dividend is US$0.26 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.00 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Westlake Chemical has a trailing yield of 1.8% on the current stock price of $59.84. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for Westlake Chemical
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. Westlake Chemical has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 21% of its income after tax. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The good news is it paid out just 25% 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?
Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Westlake Chemical's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share. Growth has been anaemic. Yet with more than 75% of its earnings being kept in the business, there is ample room to reinvest in growth or lift the payout ratio - either of which could increase the dividend.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Westlake Chemical has lifted its dividend by approximately 26% a year on average.
To Sum It Up
Is Westlake Chemical an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share have been flat over this time, but we're intrigued to see that Westlake Chemical 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 strong earnings per share growth with a low payout ratio, and Westlake Chemical is halfway there. There's a lot to like about Westlake Chemical, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.
Wondering what the future holds for Westlake Chemical? See what the 14 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.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
