Yahoo Finance Is OZ Minerals Limited (ASX:OZL) An Attractive Dividend Stock?
Dividends can be underrated but they form a large part of investment returns, playing an important role in compounding returns in the long run. Historically, OZ Minerals Limited (ASX:OZL) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 2.5%. Does OZ Minerals tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.
Check out our latest analysis for OZ Minerals
5 questions I ask before picking a dividend stock
Whenever I am looking at a potential dividend stock investment, I always check these five metrics:
Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?
Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?
How well does OZ Minerals fit our criteria?
The company currently pays out 24% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect OZL’s payout to increase to 33% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of 2.3%. However, EPS is forecasted to fall to A$0.58 in the upcoming year. Therefore, although payout is expected to increase, the fall in earnings may not equate to higher dividend income.
When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot.
Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. Dividend payments from OZ Minerals have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. This means that dividend hunters should probably steer clear of the stock, at least for now until the track record improves.
In terms of its peers, OZ Minerals generates a yield of 2.5%, which is on the low-side for Metals and Mining stocks.
Next Steps:
After digging a little deeper into OZ Minerals’s yield, it’s easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I’ve compiled three pertinent aspects you should further examine:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for OZL’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for OZL’s outlook.
Valuation: What is OZL worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether OZL is currently mispriced by the market.
Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
