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Is It Smart To Buy H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?

It looks like H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Investors can purchase shares before the 29th of July in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of August.

H.B. Fuller's upcoming dividend is US$0.16 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.64 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, H.B. Fuller has a trailing yield of approximately 1.3% on its current stock price of $48.95. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for H.B. Fuller

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. H.B. Fuller has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 25% of its income after tax. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether H.B. Fuller generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. The good news is it paid out just 13% of its free cash flow in the last year.

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.

NYSE:FUL Historical Dividend Yield, July 24th 2019
NYSE:FUL Historical Dividend Yield, July 24th 2019

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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at H.B. Fuller, with earnings per share up 5.7% on average over the last five years. Earnings per share have been increasing steadily and management is reinvesting almost all of the profits back into the business. This is an attractive combination, because when profits are reinvested effectively, growth can compound, with corresponding benefits for earnings and dividends 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 past 10 years, H.B. Fuller has increased its dividend at approximately 9.3% 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

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid H.B. Fuller? Earnings per share have been growing moderately, and H.B. Fuller is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends, which is an attractive combination as it suggests the company is investing in growth. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but H.B. Fuller is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.

Wondering what the future holds for H.B. Fuller? See what the eight 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.

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.

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