Carnival plc (LON:CCL): Ex-Dividend Is In 1 Days
Attention dividend hunters! Carnival plc (LON:CCL) will be distributing its dividend of US$0.50 per share on the 14 June 2019, and will start trading ex-dividend in 1 days time on the 23 May 2019. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I take a deeper dive into Carnival's latest financial data to analyse its dividend attributes.
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See our latest analysis for Carnival
Here's how I find good dividend stocks
Whenever I am looking at a potential dividend stock investment, I always check these five metrics:
Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?
Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?
How does Carnival fare?
Carnival has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 45%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect CCL's payout to increase to 52% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of around 4.6%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to $4.71. The higher payout forecasted, along with higher earnings, should lead to greater dividend income for investors moving forward.
If you want to dive deeper into the sustainability of a certain payout ratio, you may wish to consider the cash flow of the business. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot.
Reliability is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. The reality is that it is too early to consider Carnival as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 9 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.
In terms of its peers, Carnival has a yield of 4.0%, which is high for Hospitality stocks but still below the market's top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
Taking all the above into account, Carnival is a complicated pick for dividend investors given that there are a couple of positive things about it as well as negative. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. I've put together three essential aspects you should further research:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CCL’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for CCL’s outlook.
Valuation: What is CCL worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether CCL is currently mispriced by the market.
Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
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.
