It looks like Tempur Sealy International, Inc. (NYSE:TPX) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible 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. Thus, you can purchase Tempur Sealy International's shares before the 10th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 25th of August.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.10 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.40 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Tempur Sealy International has a trailing yield of approximately 1.5% on its current stock price of $27.2. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Tempur Sealy International's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for Tempur Sealy International
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Tempur Sealy International paid out just 12% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. 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 26% of its free cash flow in the past 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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Tempur Sealy International's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 31% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.