Yahoo Finance There's A Lot To Like About SunCoke Energy's (NYSE:SXC) Upcoming US$0.08 Dividend
It looks like SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Therefore, if you purchase SunCoke Energy's shares on or after the 17th of November, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 1st of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.08 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.32 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, SunCoke Energy has a trailing yield of 3.8% on the current stock price of $8.33. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether SunCoke Energy's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether SunCoke Energy can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for SunCoke Energy
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. SunCoke Energy has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 21% of its income after tax. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether SunCoke Energy generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 32% of its free cash flow in the past year.
It's positive to see that SunCoke Energy'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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see SunCoke Energy's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 40% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. SunCoke Energy has delivered an average of 4.0% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past eight years of dividend payments. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy SunCoke Energy for the upcoming dividend? It's great that SunCoke Energy is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
While it's tempting to invest in SunCoke Energy for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with SunCoke Energy (including 1 which can't be ignored).
Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
