It Might Not Be A Great Idea To Buy News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) For Its Next Dividend
Readers hoping to buy News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 15th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 14th of October.
News's next dividend payment will be US$0.10 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.20 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, News stock has a trailing yield of around 1.3% on the current share price of $15.12. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether News's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether News can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for News
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. News's dividend is not well covered by earnings, as the company lost money last year. This is not a sustainable state of affairs, so it would be worth investigating if earnings are expected to recover. Considering the lack of profitability, we also need to check if the company generated enough cash flow to cover the dividend payment. If News didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term. It distributed 34% 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?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. News reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. News's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were five years ago. When earnings are declining yet the dividends are flat, typically the company is either paying out a higher portion of its earnings, or paying out of cash or debt on the balance sheet, neither of which is ideal.
We update our analysis on News every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid News? We're a bit uncomfortable with it paying a dividend while being loss-making. However, we note that the dividend was covered by cash flow. Bottom line: News has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors.
Wondering what the future holds for News? See what the nine analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top 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.
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