Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 28th of January in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 5th of March.
Pfizer's next dividend payment will be US$0.39 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.52 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Pfizer stock has a trailing yield of around 4.3% on the current share price of $36.55. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Pfizer
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. Last year, Pfizer paid out 96% of its income as dividends, which is above a level that we're comfortable with, especially if the company needs to reinvest in its business. 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 more than three-quarters (81%) of its free cash flow generated, which is fairly high and may be starting to limit reinvestment in the business.
It's good to see that while Pfizer's dividends were not well covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company continues paying out such a high percentage of its profits, the dividend could be at risk if business turns sour.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's not encouraging to see that Pfizer's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Pfizer has delivered 8.0% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Pfizer for the upcoming dividend? Flat earnings per share and a high payout ratio are not what we like to see, although at least it paid out a lower percentage of its free cash flow. With the way things are shaping up from a dividend perspective, we'd be inclined to steer clear of Pfizer.
So if you're still interested in Pfizer despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Pfizer (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising 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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It Might Not Be A Great Idea To Buy Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) For Its Next Dividend - Yahoo Finance
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