Why You Might Be Interested In Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Readers hoping to buy Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 14th of September to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of September.

Garmin's next dividend payment will be US$0.61 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$2.44 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Garmin has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current share price of $99.36. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Garmin'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.

Check out our latest analysis for Garmin

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. Fortunately Garmin's payout ratio is modest, at just 50% of profit. 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 47% 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 consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's encouraging to see Garmin has grown its earnings rapidly, up 21% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Garmin has delivered 13% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Garmin? Garmin has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Garmin is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Garmin that you should be aware of before investing in their 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.

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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.
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