Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 14th of May will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 25th of May.
Dolby Laboratories's next dividend payment will be US$0.22 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.88 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Dolby Laboratories has a trailing yield of 0.9% on the current share price of $96.64. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Dolby Laboratories has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Dolby Laboratories
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. Fortunately Dolby Laboratories's payout ratio is modest, at just 29% of profit. 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 paid out 25% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It's positive to see that Dolby Laboratories'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.
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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. For this reason, we're glad to see Dolby Laboratories's earnings per share have risen 11% per annum over the last five years. The company has managed to grow earnings at a rapid rate, while reinvesting most of the profits within the business. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, seven years ago, Dolby Laboratories 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
Has Dolby Laboratories got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? We love that Dolby Laboratories is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
While it's tempting to invest in Dolby Laboratories for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Dolby Laboratories and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting 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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