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Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 12th of September to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of October.
Packaging of America's next dividend payment will be US$0.79 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$3.16 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Packaging of America has a trailing yield of 3.1% on the current share price of $100.61. 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 investigate whether Packaging of America can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
View our latest analysis for Packaging of America
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Packaging of America paid out a comfortable 38% of its profit last year. 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 41% of its free cash flow in the past year.
It's positive to see that Packaging of America'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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Packaging of America's earnings per share have risen 13% per annum over the last five years. The company has managed to grow earnings at a rapid rate, while reinvesting most of the profits 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.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Packaging of America has lifted its dividend by approximately 10% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.