Yahoo Finance Aon plc (NYSE:AON) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. Investors can purchase shares before the 31st of January in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of February.
Aon's next dividend payment will be US$0.44 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.76 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Aon has a trailing yield of 0.8% on the current stock price of $213.42. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Aon can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for Aon
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. That's why it's good to see Aon paying out a modest 28% of its earnings.
Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.
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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Fortunately for readers, Aon's earnings per share have been growing at 11% a year for the past five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Aon has delivered an average of 11% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past ten years of dividend payments. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
The Bottom Line
Should investors buy Aon for the upcoming dividend? Companies like Aon that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Overall, Aon looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.
Ever wonder what the future holds for Aon? See what the 16 analysts we track 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.
