Why You Might Be Interested In Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU) For Its Upcoming Dividend
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
Readers hoping to buy Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ:KALU) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. If you purchase the stock on or after the 24th of July, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 15th of August.
Kaiser Aluminum's next dividend payment will be US$0.60 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$2.40 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Kaiser Aluminum has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current stock price of $95.11. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Kaiser Aluminum's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
View our latest analysis for Kaiser Aluminum
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. That's why it's good to see Kaiser Aluminum paying out a modest 40% of its earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 48% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
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 that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. That explains why we're not overly excited about Kaiser Aluminum's flat earnings over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share. Recent growth has not been impressive. However, companies that see their growth slow can often choose to pay out a greater percentage of earnings to shareholders, which could see the dividend continue to rise.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Kaiser Aluminum has lifted its dividend by approximately 9.6% a year on average.
To Sum It Up
Is Kaiser Aluminum an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share have been flat over this time, but we're intrigued to see that Kaiser Aluminum is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. Generally we like to see both low payout ratios and strong earnings per share growth, but Kaiser Aluminum is halfway there. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
Wondering what the future holds for Kaiser Aluminum? See what the five 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.
