Essity AB (publ) (STO:ESSITY B) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Essity AB (publ) (STO:ESSITY B) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 3rd of April will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 9th of April.

Essity's next dividend payment will be kr6.25 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of kr6.25 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Essity has a trailing yield of 2.1% on the current stock price of SEK290.8. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Essity can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Essity

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. That's why it's good to see Essity paying out a modest 48% 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. It distributed 30% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.

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. For this reason, we're glad to see Essity's earnings per share have risen 12% per annum over the last 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.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last two years, Essity has lifted its dividend by approximately 4.3% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Essity is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.

To Sum It Up

Has Essity got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? We love that Essity is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. There's a lot to like about Essity, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Essity and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.