Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 31st of March to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of May.
Air Products and Chemicals's next dividend payment will be US$1.50 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$6.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Air Products and Chemicals has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current share price of $277.27. 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 Air Products and Chemicals can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for Air Products and Chemicals
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Air Products and Chemicals is paying out an acceptable 63% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. 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. Over the past year it paid out 177% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. It's hard to consistently pay out more cash than you generate without either borrowing or using company cash, so we'd wonder how the company justifies this payout level.
Air Products and Chemicals paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Air Products and Chemicals's ability to maintain its dividend.
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. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Air Products and Chemicals's earnings per share have risen 15% per annum over the last five years. Earnings have been growing at a decent rate, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.
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, Air Products and Chemicals has lifted its dividend by approximately 12% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.
The Bottom Line
Is Air Products and Chemicals an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's good to see that earnings per share are growing and that the company's payout ratio is within a normal range for most businesses. However we're somewhat concerned that it paid out 177% of its cashflow, which is uncomfortably high. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Air Products and Chemicals's dividend merits.
If you're not too concerned about Air Products and Chemicals's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Air Products and Chemicals and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.
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.
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. 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.
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