Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
Readers hoping to buy Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. If you purchase the stock on or after the 1st of October, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 2nd of November.
Bristol-Myers Squibb's upcoming dividend is US$0.45 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.80 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Bristol-Myers Squibb stock has a trailing yield of around 3.0% on the current share price of $59.49. 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! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Bristol-Myers Squibb paid a dividend last year despite being unprofitable. This might be a one-off event, but it's not a sustainable state of affairs in the long run. 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 cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. It distributed 28% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.
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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Bristol-Myers Squibb was unprofitable last year, but at least the general trend suggests its earnings have been improving over the past five years. Even so, an unprofitable company whose business does not quickly recover is usually not a good candidate for dividend investors.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Bristol-Myers Squibb has increased its dividend at approximately 3.5% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.
Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Bristol-Myers Squibb's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Bristol-Myers Squibb for the upcoming dividend? It's hard to get used to Bristol-Myers Squibb paying a dividend despite reporting a loss over the past year. At least the dividend was covered by free cash flow, however. To summarise, Bristol-Myers Squibb looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity.
With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Bristol-Myers Squibb, you should know about the other risks facing this business. For example, we've found 4 warning signs for Bristol-Myers Squibb (1 is significant!) 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
