Yahoo Finance Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Moody's' shares before the 18th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 9th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.70 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$2.80 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Moody's has a trailing yield of 0.9% on the current share price of $322.97. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Moody's
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Moody's paid out a comfortable 28% of its profit last year.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Moody's's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 47% per annum for the past five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Moody's has delivered an average of 17% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.
To Sum It Up
Is Moody's an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Companies like Moody's that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Overall, Moody's looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks Moody's is facing. Be aware that Moody's is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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