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Investors who want to cash in on Pitney Bowes Inc.’s (NYSE:PBI) upcoming dividend of US$0.05 per share have only 3 days left to buy the shares before its ex-dividend date, 14 February 2019, in time for dividends payable on the 11 March 2019. Is this future income a persuasive enough catalyst for investors to think about Pitney Bowes as an investment today? Below, I’m going to look at the latest data and analyze the stock and its dividend property in further detail.
View our latest analysis for Pitney Bowes
5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock
When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:
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Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?
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Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?
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Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?
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Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
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Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?
How well does Pitney Bowes fit our criteria?
Pitney Bowes has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 70%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.
When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.
If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it’s dividend stocks and their constant income stream. Dividend payments from Pitney Bowes have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. This means that dividend hunters should probably steer clear of the stock, at least for now until the track record improves.
Relative to peers, Pitney Bowes produces a yield of 2.9%, which is high for Commercial Services stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in Pitney Bowes for the dividend. On the other hand, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still be offering some interesting investment opportunities. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. I’ve put together three fundamental factors you should further research: