In This Article:
It looks like HORNBACH Holding AG & Co. KGaA (ETR:HBH) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order 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. In other words, investors can purchase HORNBACH Holding KGaA's shares before the 8th of July in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of July.
The company's next dividend payment will be €2.40 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed €2.40 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, HORNBACH Holding KGaA has a trailing yield of approximately 3.0% on its current stock price of €80.70. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
View our latest analysis for HORNBACH Holding KGaA
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. HORNBACH Holding KGaA has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 25% of its income after tax. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether HORNBACH Holding KGaA generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 11% 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 earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, HORNBACH Holding KGaA's earnings per share have been growing at 19% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.