Yahoo Finance Why You Might Be Interested In LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) For Its Upcoming Dividend
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 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 of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. In other words, investors can purchase LyondellBasell Industries' shares before the 25th of November in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 5th of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$1.19 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$4.76 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that LyondellBasell Industries has a trailing yield of 5.8% on the current share price of $82.3. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether LyondellBasell Industries can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for LyondellBasell Industries
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see LyondellBasell Industries paying out a modest 36% of its earnings. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether LyondellBasell Industries generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It distributed 28% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.
It's positive to see that LyondellBasell Industries'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 strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at LyondellBasell Industries, with earnings per share up 7.3% on average over the last five years. The company is retaining more than half of its earnings within the business, and it has been growing earnings at a decent rate. We think this is generally an attractive combination, as dividends can grow through a combination of earnings growth and or a higher payout ratio over time.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. LyondellBasell Industries has delivered an average of 17% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. 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.
The Bottom Line
Is LyondellBasell Industries worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and LyondellBasell Industries 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. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but LyondellBasell Industries is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
In light of that, while LyondellBasell Industries has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for LyondellBasell Industries (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.
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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