Be Sure To Check Out CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
It looks like CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 27th of February will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of March.
CSX's upcoming dividend is US$0.26 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.04 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that CSX has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current share price of $79.56. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether CSX has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for CSX
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. CSX has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 23% of its income after tax. 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. Luckily it paid out just 24% of its free cash flow 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.
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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, CSX's earnings per share have been growing at 17% a year for the past five years. The company has managed to grow earnings at a rapid rate, while reinvesting most of the profits within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last ten years, CSX has lifted its dividend by approximately 13% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy CSX for the upcoming dividend? We love that CSX 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. There's a lot to like about CSX, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.
Curious what other investors think of CSX? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
