Yahoo Finance Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend
Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Kontoor Brands' shares before the 9th of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.46 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.84 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Kontoor Brands stock has a trailing yield of around 3.4% on the current share price of $53.97. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Kontoor Brands has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Kontoor Brands
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Kontoor Brands paid out a comfortable 47% of its profit last year. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 33% 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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Kontoor Brands's earnings per share have risen 18% 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. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Kontoor Brands has seen its dividend decline 9.4% per annum on average over the past two years, which is not great to see. Kontoor Brands is a rare case where dividends have been decreasing at the same time as earnings per share have been improving. It's unusual to see, and could point to unstable conditions in the core business, or more rarely an intensified focus on reinvesting profits.
Final Takeaway
Has Kontoor Brands got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Kontoor Brands has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past two years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
While it's tempting to invest in Kontoor Brands for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. For example - Kontoor Brands has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
