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Suncor Energy Inc. (TSE:SU) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days time. If you purchase the stock on or after the 3rd of September, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 25th of September.
Suncor Energy's upcoming dividend is CA$0.42 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$1.68 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Suncor Energy has a trailing yield of approximately 4.4% on its current stock price of CA$37.9. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Suncor Energy
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Suncor Energy paid out a comfortable 43% of its profit last year. 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 32% of its free cash flow in the past year.
It's positive to see that Suncor 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?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Suncor Energy, with earnings per share up 6.7% on average over the last five years. Management have been reinvested more than half of the company's earnings within the business, and the company has been able to grow earnings with this retained capital. We think this is generally an attractive combination, as dividends can grow through a combination of earnings growth and or a higher payout ratio over time.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Suncor Energy has lifted its dividend by approximately 24% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.