Yahoo Finance Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 12th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of March.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum's next dividend payment will be US$0.63 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.50 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Reliance Steel & Aluminum stock has a trailing yield of around 2.4% on the current share price of $102.7. 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 Reliance Steel & Aluminum has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
View our latest analysis for Reliance Steel & Aluminum
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Reliance Steel & Aluminum is paying out just 21% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. It paid out 14% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
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 with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, Reliance Steel & Aluminum's earnings per share have been growing at 17% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Reliance Steel & Aluminum has delivered an average of 20% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past ten years of dividend payments. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
The Bottom Line
Is Reliance Steel & Aluminum worth buying for its dividend? Reliance Steel & Aluminum has been growing earnings at a rapid rate, and has a conservatively low payout ratio, implying that it is reinvesting heavily in its business; a sterling combination. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
In light of that, while Reliance Steel & Aluminum has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Reliance Steel & Aluminum and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
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.
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