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Orange S.A. (EPA:ORA) Is About To Go Ex-Dividend, And It Pays A 6.5% Yield

Orange S.A. (EPA:ORA) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 2nd of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 4th of June.

Orange's next dividend payment will be €0.20 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of €0.70 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Orange has a trailing yield of 6.5% on the current share price of €10.78. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether Orange has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

See our latest analysis for Orange

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Orange is paying out an acceptable 68% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. 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. Orange paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 127%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly high. It's hard to consistently pay out more cash than you generate without either borrowing or using company cash, so we'd wonder how the company justifies this payout level.

While Orange's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Orange to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

ENXTPA:ORA Historical Dividend Yield May 29th 2020
ENXTPA:ORA Historical Dividend Yield May 29th 2020

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. That's why it's comforting to see Orange's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 23% per annum for the past five years. Earnings have been growing quickly, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Orange's dividend payments per share have declined at 6.7% per year on average over the past ten years, which is uninspiring. Orange is a rare case where dividends have been decreasing at the same time as earnings per share have been improving. It's unusual to see, and could point to unstable conditions in the core business, or more rarely an intensified focus on reinvesting profits.

The Bottom Line

Is Orange an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's good to see that earnings per share are growing and that the company's payout ratio is within a normal range for most businesses. However we're somewhat concerned that it paid out 127% of its cashflow, which is uncomfortably high. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Orange from a dividend perspective.

If you want to look further into Orange, it's worth knowing the risks this business faces. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Orange you should be aware of.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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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. Thank you for reading.