Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Therefore, if you purchase Becton Dickinson's shares on or after the 10th of June, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 28th of June.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.95 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$3.80 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Becton Dickinson has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current share price of US$238.50. 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! So we need to investigate whether Becton Dickinson can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. It paid out 79% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It distributed 37% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.
It's positive to see that Becton Dickinson'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.
NYSE:BDX Historic Dividend June 5th 2024
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Becton Dickinson's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 50% per annum for the past five years. The company is paying out more than three-quarters of its earnings, but it is also generating strong earnings growth.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Becton Dickinson has lifted its dividend by approximately 6.7% a year on average. 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 Becton Dickinson worth buying for its dividend? Becton Dickinson's growing earnings per share and conservative payout ratios make for a decent combination. We also like that it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
So while Becton Dickinson looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 3 warning signs with Becton Dickinson and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
普通讀者會知道我們喜歡Simply Wall St的股息,這就是爲什麼看到Becton、Dickinson and Company(紐約證券交易所代碼:BDX)即將在未來四天內進行除息交易令人興奮的原因。除息日通常設置爲記錄日期前一個工作日,即您必須作爲股東出現在公司賬簿上才能獲得股息的截止日期。除息日很重要,因爲任何股票交易都需要在記錄日期之前結算才有資格獲得股息。因此,如果您在6月10日當天或之後購買貝克頓·狄金森的股票,則沒有資格獲得6月28日支付的股息。
該公司即將派發的股息爲每股0.95美元,此前該公司向股東共分配了每股3.80美元。計算去年的付款額顯示,貝克頓·狄金森的追蹤收益率爲1.6%,而目前的股價爲238.50美元。我們喜歡看到公司派發股息,但同樣重要的是要確保產下金蛋不會殺死我們的金鵝!因此,我們需要調查貝克頓·狄金森能否負擔得起股息,以及股息能否增長。
股息通常從公司利潤中支付,因此,如果公司支付的股息超過其收入,則其股息被削減的風險通常更大。它去年將收益的79%作爲股息支付,這並非不合理,但限制了對業務的再投資,使股息容易受到業務衰退的影響。如果收益開始下降,我們會感到擔憂。然而,在評估股息可持續性方面,現金流通常比利潤更重要,因此我們應始終檢查公司產生的現金是否足以支付股息。它將自由現金流的37%作爲股息分配,對於大多數公司來說,這是一個不錯的支出水平。
可以肯定的是,貝克頓·狄金森的股息由利潤和現金流共同支付,因爲這通常表明股息是可持續的,而較低的派息率通常表明在削減股息之前有更大的安全餘地。
點擊此處查看該公司的派息率,以及分析師對其未來股息的估計。
紐約證券交易所:BDX 歷史股息 2024 年 6 月 5 日
收益和股息一直在增長嗎?
實現可持續收益增長的公司的股票通常具有最佳的股息前景,因爲當收益上升時,更容易提高股息。如果業務陷入低迷並削減股息,該公司的價值可能會急劇下降。這就是爲什麼看到貝克頓·狄金森的收入直線上升,在過去五年中每年增長50%令人欣慰的原因。該公司支付了四分之三以上的收益,但也實現了強勁的收益增長。
衡量公司股息前景的另一種關鍵方法是衡量其歷史股息增長率。自10年前我們的數據開始以來,貝克頓·狄金森的股息平均每年提高約6.7%。我們很高興看到多年來股息隨着收益的增長而增加,這可能表明該公司打算與股東分享增長。
底線
貝克頓·狄金森的股息值得買入嗎?貝克頓·狄金森不斷增長的每股收益和保守的派息率構成了不錯的組合。我們也喜歡它支付的現金流百分比較低。總的來說,我們認爲這是一個有吸引力的組合,值得進一步研究。
因此,儘管從股息的角度來看,貝克頓·狄金森看起來不錯,但隨時值得了解該股所涉及的最新風險。在投資風險方面,我們已經向Becton Dickinson確定了3個警告信號,並了解它們應該成爲您投資過程的一部分。
如果您在市場上尋找強勁的股息支付者,我們建議您查看我們精選的頂級股息股票。
對這篇文章有反饋嗎?對內容感到擔憂嗎?請直接聯繫我們。或者,也可以發送電子郵件至編輯團隊 (at) simplywallst.com。
Simply Wall St的這篇文章本質上是籠統的。我們僅使用公正的方法根據歷史數據和分析師的預測提供評論,我們的文章無意作爲財務建議。它不構成買入或賣出任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們的目標是爲您提供由基本數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。簡而言之,華爾街沒有持有任何上述股票的頭寸。