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Readers hoping to buy Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 29th of November to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of December.
Expeditors International of Washington's next dividend payment will be US$0.50 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Expeditors International of Washington has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current share price of $75.51. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Expeditors International of Washington
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see Expeditors International of Washington paying out a modest 26% of its earnings. 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. The good news is it paid out just 25% of its free cash flow in the last year.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
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. Fortunately for readers, Expeditors International of Washington's earnings per share have been growing at 17% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.
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, ten years ago, Expeditors International of Washington has lifted its dividend by approximately 10% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.