Yahoo Finance Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG)'s Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend
Readers hoping to buy Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 7th of August will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of August.
Cabot Oil & Gas's next dividend payment will be US$0.09 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.36 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Cabot Oil & Gas has a trailing yield of 1.9% on the current stock price of $18.73. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Cabot Oil & Gas
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Cabot Oil & Gas paid out just 15% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Cabot Oil & Gas generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 23% of its cash flow 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?
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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Cabot Oil & Gas's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 24% per annum for the past five years. Cabot Oil & Gas looks like a real growth company, with earnings per share growing at a cracking pace and the company reinvesting most of its profits in the business.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Cabot Oil & Gas has lifted its dividend by approximately 28% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.
The Bottom Line
Should investors buy Cabot Oil & Gas for the upcoming dividend? We love that Cabot Oil & Gas is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Cabot Oil & Gas looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
Curious what other investors think of Cabot Oil & Gas? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow .
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting 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.
