Yahoo Finance Don't Buy AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) For Its Next Dividend Without Doing These Checks
Readers hoping to buy AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 11th of February to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of March.
AmerisourceBergen's upcoming dividend is US$0.44 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.76 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that AmerisourceBergen has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current share price of $109.69. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether AmerisourceBergen has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for AmerisourceBergen
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. AmerisourceBergen's dividend is not well covered by earnings, as the company lost money last year. This is not a sustainable state of affairs, so it would be worth investigating if earnings are expected to recover. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the dividend. If AmerisourceBergen didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term. The good news is it paid out just 14% of its free cash flow in the last year.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. AmerisourceBergen was unprofitable last year and, unfortunately, the general trend suggests its earnings have been in decline over the last five years, making us wonder if the dividend is sustainable at all.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, AmerisourceBergen has lifted its dividend by approximately 19% a year on average.
We update our analysis on AmerisourceBergen every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy AmerisourceBergen for the upcoming dividend? First, it's not great to see the company paying a dividend despite being loss-making over the last year. On the plus side, the dividend was covered by free cash flow." Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.
With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of AmerisourceBergen don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. For example, we've found 2 warning signs for AmerisourceBergen (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that deserve your attention before investing in the shares.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting 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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