Do These 3 Checks Before Buying Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) For Its Upcoming Dividend

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 Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) is about to go ex-dividend in just three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Newmont's shares before the 7th of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 29th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.55 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.20 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Newmont has a trailing yield of 4.5% on the current share price of $48.67. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Newmont'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.

View our latest analysis for Newmont

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. Newmont paid out 180% of profit in the past year, which we think is typically not sustainable unless there are mitigating characteristics such as unusually strong cash flow or a large cash balance. 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. Newmont paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 110%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.

As Newmont's dividend was not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we would be concerned that this dividend could be at risk over the long term.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Newmont's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 25% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly, but the company is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of its earnings as dividends. Fast-growing businesses normally need to reinvest most of their earnings in order to maintain growth, so we'd suspect that either earnings growth will slow or the dividend may not be increased for a while.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Newmont has delivered 4.6% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Newmont is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.

Final Takeaway

Has Newmont got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? While it's nice to see earnings per share growing, we're curious about how Newmont intends to continue growing, or maintain the dividend in a downturn given that it's paying out such a high percentage of its earnings and cashflow. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

So if you're still interested in Newmont despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Newmont (of which 2 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.

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

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.

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