Yahoo Finance Three Days Left Until Bioventix PLC (LON:BVXP) Trades Ex-Dividend
Bioventix PLC (LON:BVXP) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Accordingly, Bioventix investors that purchase the stock on or after the 28th of October will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 12th of November.
The company's next dividend payment will be UK£1.00 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK£1.43 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Bioventix has a trailing yield of approximately 3.9% on its current stock price of £36.75. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Bioventix has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Bioventix
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 81% 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. 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. Over the past year it paid out 127% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.
Bioventix paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Bioventix to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.
Click here to see how much of its profit Bioventix paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Bioventix's earnings per share have risen 13% per annum over the last five years. Earnings have been growing at a decent rate, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.
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, Bioventix has lifted its dividend by approximately 29% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
Final Takeaway
Is Bioventix worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share growth is a positive, and the company's payout ratio looks normal. However, we note Bioventix paid out a much higher percentage of its free cash flow, which makes us uncomfortable. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there.
However if you're still interested in Bioventix as a potential investment, you should definitely consider some of the risks involved with Bioventix. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Bioventix (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) 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.
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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