Yahoo Finance Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A US$1.03 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 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is about to go ex-dividend in just 2 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 17th of January will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of February.
Caterpillar's upcoming dividend is US$1.03 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$4.12 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Caterpillar stock has a trailing yield of around 2.8% on the current share price of $146.82. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Caterpillar can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for Caterpillar
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see Caterpillar paying out a modest 36% of its earnings. 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. It paid out more than half (53%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's positive to see that Caterpillar'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?
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. 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, Caterpillar's earnings per share have been growing at 13% a year for the past five years. Caterpillar has an average payout ratio which suggests a balance between growing earnings and rewarding shareholders. This is a reasonable combination that could hint at some further dividend increases in the future.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past ten years, Caterpillar has increased its dividend at approximately 9.4% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Caterpillar for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share have grown at a nice rate in recent times and over the last year, Caterpillar paid out less than half its earnings and a bit over half its free cash flow. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
Curious what other investors think of Caterpillar? See what analysts 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.
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.
