Yahoo Finance Should You Buy MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. You can purchase shares before the 13th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 31st of August.
MSCI's next dividend payment will be US$0.78 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$3.12 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, MSCI has a trailing yield of approximately 0.9% on its current stock price of $362.37. 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 MSCI can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for MSCI
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Fortunately MSCI's payout ratio is modest, at just 44% of profit.
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?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. That's why it's comforting to see MSCI's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 29% per annum for the past five years.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, six years ago, MSCI has lifted its dividend by approximately 28% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy MSCI for the upcoming dividend? Companies like MSCI 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. MSCI ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with MSCI and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
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. 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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