Yahoo Finance We Wouldn't Be Too Quick To Buy Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 29th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 13th of September.
Newell Brands's next dividend payment will be US$0.23 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.92 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Newell Brands has a trailing yield of 5.8% on the current stock price of $15.76. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Newell Brands's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Newell Brands
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Newell Brands paid a dividend last year despite being unprofitable. This might be a one-off event, but it's not a sustainable state of affairs in the long run. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the dividend. If cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. Dividends consumed 53% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Newell Brands reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Newell Brands has lifted its dividend by approximately 0.9% a year on average.
We update our analysis on Newell Brands every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.
Final Takeaway
Has Newell Brands got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? We're a bit uncomfortable with it paying a dividend while being loss-making. However, we note that the dividend was covered by cash flow. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.
Curious what other investors think of Newell Brands? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow .
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.
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.
