Be Sure To Check Out Amara Raja Batteries Limited (NSE:AMARAJABAT) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
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 Amara Raja Batteries Limited (NSE:AMARAJABAT) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 21st of November will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 9th of December.
Amara Raja Batteries's next dividend payment will be ₹6.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of ₹11.08 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Amara Raja Batteries has a trailing yield of approximately 1.5% on its current stock price of ₹746.7. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Amara Raja Batteries
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. Fortunately Amara Raja Batteries's payout ratio is modest, at just 31% of profit. 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. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 23% of its cash flow last year.
It's positive to see that Amara Raja Batteries'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?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. For this reason, we're glad to see Amara Raja Batteries's earnings per share have risen 11% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings 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. Amara Raja Batteries has delivered 39% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
To Sum It Up
Has Amara Raja Batteries got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Amara Raja Batteries has been growing earnings at a rapid rate, and has a conservatively low payout ratio, implying that it is reinvesting heavily in its business; a sterling combination. There's a lot to like about Amara Raja Batteries, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.
Ever wonder what the future holds for Amara Raja Batteries? See what the 18 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
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.
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.
