Yahoo Finance Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)'s Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 5th of February will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 21st of February.
Starbucks's next dividend payment will be US$0.41 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.64 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Starbucks has a trailing yield of 1.9% on the current share price of $84.83. 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 Starbucks
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fortunately Starbucks's payout ratio is modest, at just 50% of profit. 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. Over the last year it paid out 66% of its free cash flow as dividends, within the usual range 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.
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. Fortunately for readers, Starbucks's earnings per share have been growing at 18% a year for the past five years. Starbucks is paying out a bit over half its earnings, which suggests the company is striking a balance between reinvesting in growth, and paying dividends. This is a reasonable combination that could hint at some further dividend increases in the future.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Starbucks has delivered 23% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
To Sum It Up
Is Starbucks an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? From a dividend perspective, we're encouraged to see that earnings per share have been growing, the company is paying out less than half of its earnings, and a bit over half its free cash flow. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
Curious what other investors think of Starbucks? See what analysts 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.
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.
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