Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Will Pay A 0.7% Dividend In 3 Days
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 Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 26th of September will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of October.
Ralph Lauren's next dividend payment will be US$0.7 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.8 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Ralph Lauren has a trailing yield of 3.0% on the current share price of $92.97. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Ralph Lauren's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Ralph Lauren has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Ralph Lauren
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. Ralph Lauren paid out a comfortable 47% of its profit last year. 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. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 36% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
It's positive to see that Ralph Lauren'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?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see Ralph Lauren's earnings per share have dropped 8.4% a year over the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, ten years ago, Ralph Lauren has lifted its dividend by approximately 30% a year on average.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Ralph Lauren for the upcoming dividend? Ralph Lauren has comfortably low cash and profit payout ratios, which may mean the dividend is sustainable even in the face of a sharp decline in earnings per share. Still, we consider declining earnings to be a warning sign. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Ralph Lauren from a dividend perspective.
Wondering what the future holds for Ralph Lauren? See what the 18 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
