Advertisement

Celanese (NYSE:CE) Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. You can purchase shares before the 26th of October in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 10th of November.

Celanese's upcoming dividend is US$0.62 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$2.48 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Celanese has a trailing yield of 2.1% on the current share price of $117.36. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Celanese's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Celanese

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. Celanese paid out a comfortable 46% of its profit last year. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Fortunately, it paid out only 32% 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.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Celanese, with earnings per share up 5.7% on average over the last five years. The company is retaining more than half of its earnings within the business, and it has been growing earnings at a decent rate. We think this is generally an attractive combination, as dividends can grow through a combination of earnings growth and or a higher payout ratio over time.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Celanese has lifted its dividend by approximately 32% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

Final Takeaway

Has Celanese got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Celanese is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. We would prefer to see earnings growing faster, but the best dividend stocks over the long term typically combine significant earnings per share growth with a low payout ratio, and Celanese is halfway there. Celanese looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

In light of that, while Celanese has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Celanese and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

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.

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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.