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Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Accordingly, Liberty Energy investors that purchase the stock on or after the 6th of December will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of December.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.08 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.32 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Liberty Energy has a trailing yield of 1.7% on the current share price of US$18.40. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Liberty Energy
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Liberty Energy is paying out just 13% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 13% of its cash flow 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?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. This is why it's a relief to see Liberty Energy earnings per share are up 3.5% per annum over the last five years. Liberty Energy is retaining more than three-quarters of its earnings and has a history of generating some growth in earnings. We think this is a reasonable combination.