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Here's What We Like About Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN.)'s Upcoming Dividend

Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN.) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 3rd of October, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 30th of October.

Smith & Nephew's next dividend payment will be UK£0.1 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK£0.4 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Smith & Nephew stock has a trailing yield of around 1.5% on the current share price of £19.605. 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! So we need to investigate whether Smith & Nephew can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Smith & Nephew

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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. That's why it's good to see Smith & Nephew paying out a modest 46% of its earnings. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Smith & Nephew generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It distributed 41% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.

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.

LSE:SN. Historical Dividend Yield, September 30th 2019
LSE:SN. Historical Dividend Yield, September 30th 2019

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Smith & Nephew, with earnings per share up 5.3% on average over the last five years. Management have been reinvested more than half of the company's earnings within the business, and the company has been able to grow earnings with this retained capital. We think this is generally an attractive combination, as dividends can grow through a combination of earnings growth and or a higher payout ratio over time.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past ten years, Smith & Nephew has increased its dividend at approximately 11% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

Final Takeaway

Has Smith & Nephew got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been growing moderately, and Smith & Nephew is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends, which is an attractive combination as it suggests the company is investing in growth. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but Smith & Nephew is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

Ever wonder what the future holds for Smith & Nephew? See what the 17 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.