AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGL) Pays A AU$0.47 Dividend In Just 4 Days
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGL) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 26th of February will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of March.
AGL Energy's next dividend payment will be AU$0.47 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of AU$1.19 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that AGL Energy has a trailing yield of 5.6% on the current share price of A$21.12. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for AGL Energy
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. Its dividend payout ratio is 77% of profit, which means the company is paying out a majority of its earnings. The relatively limited profit reinvestment could slow the rate of future earnings growth It could become a concern if earnings started 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. Dividends consumed 69% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.
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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see AGL Energy earnings per share are up 7.9% per annum over the last five years. Decent historical earnings per share growth suggests AGL Energy has been effectively growing value for shareholders. However, it's now paying out more than half its earnings as dividends. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last ten years, AGL Energy has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.4% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Has AGL Energy got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been growing modestly and AGL Energy paid out a bit over half of its earnings and free cash flow last year. In summary, while it has some positive characteristics, we're not inclined to race out and buy AGL Energy today.
Ever wonder what the future holds for AGL Energy? See what the 11 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top 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.
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. Thank you for reading.
