In This Article:
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Prudential Financial's shares before the 20th of November to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$1.25 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$5.00 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Prudential Financial has a trailing yield of approximately 5.3% on its current stock price of $94.28. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Prudential Financial can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for Prudential Financial
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. Prudential Financial distributed an unsustainably high 139% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without more sustainable payment behaviour, the dividend looks precarious.
Generally, the higher a company's payout ratio, the more the dividend is at risk of being reduced.
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. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see Prudential Financial's earnings per share have dropped 28% a year over the past five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Prudential Financial has delivered an average of 12% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. Prudential Financial is already paying out a high percentage of its income, so without earnings growth, we're doubtful of whether this dividend will grow much in the future.