Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 24th of October in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 29th of November.
Williams-Sonoma's next dividend payment will be US$0.5 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.9 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Williams-Sonoma stock has a trailing yield of around 2.8% on the current share price of $69.26. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Williams-Sonoma
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see Williams-Sonoma paying out a modest 41% of its earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Dividends consumed 58% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.
It's positive to see that Williams-Sonoma'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?
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 decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Williams-Sonoma, with earnings per share up 9.0% on average over the last five years. While earnings have been growing at a credible rate, the company is paying out a majority of its earnings to shareholders. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Williams-Sonoma has delivered an average of 15% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past ten years of dividend payments. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
The Bottom Line
Is Williams-Sonoma an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share growth has been modest, and it's interesting that Williams-Sonoma is paying out less than half of its earnings and more than half its cash flow to shareholders in the form of dividends. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Williams-Sonoma from a dividend perspective.
Ever wonder what the future holds for Williams-Sonoma? See what the 23 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
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.
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.
