Is It Worth Considering Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a 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. Therefore, if you purchase Barnes Group's shares on or after the 25th of May, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 10th of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.16 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.64 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Barnes Group stock has a trailing yield of around 1.9% on the current share price of $33.6. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

View our latest analysis for Barnes Group

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. That's why it's good to see Barnes Group paying out a modest 32% 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 36% 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.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. So we're not too excited that Barnes Group's earnings are down 4.5% a year over the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Barnes Group has delivered an average of 7.2% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Barnes Group for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share are down meaningfully, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend needs to be cut. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there.

So while Barnes Group looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Barnes Group you should be aware of.

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

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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.