Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSE:CVE) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSE:CVE) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Accordingly, Cenovus Energy investors that purchase the stock on or after the 14th of December will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.10 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$0.42 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Cenovus Energy stock has a trailing yield of around 1.7% on the current share price of CA$24.5. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Cenovus Energy's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Cenovus Energy
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. Cenovus Energy paid out just 11% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Cenovus Energy generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 8.0% of its cash flow last year.
It's positive to see that Cenovus Energy'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?
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 Cenovus Energy's earnings per share have risen 11% 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. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Cenovus Energy has seen its dividend decline 7.1% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. Cenovus Energy 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 Cenovus Energy got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Cenovus Energy has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. Cenovus Energy looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
So while Cenovus Energy looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Cenovus Energy you should know about.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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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