Should You Buy PBG S.A. (BVMF:PTBL3) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see PBG S.A. (BVMF:PTBL3) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Accordingly, PBG investors that purchase the stock on or after the 24th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 5th of April.

The company's next dividend payment will be R$0.025 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of R$0.70 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, PBG stock has a trailing yield of around 7.8% on the current share price of R$9.07. 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! So we need to investigate whether PBG can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for PBG

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. PBG paid out 72% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. 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. The company paid out 94% of its free cash flow over the last year, which we think is outside the ideal range for most businesses. Companies usually need cash more than they need earnings - expenses don't pay themselves - so it's not great to see it paying out so much of its cash flow.

While PBG'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. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to PBG's ability to maintain its dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit PBG paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's encouraging to see PBG has grown its earnings rapidly, up 158% a year 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.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. PBG has delivered 25% dividend growth per year on average over the past nine years. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

The Bottom Line

Is PBG worth buying for its dividend? The best dividend stocks typically boast a long history of growing earnings per share (EPS) via a combination of earnings growth and buybacks. That's why we're glad to see PBG growing its EPS, buying back stock and paying out a reasonable percentage of its earnings as dividends. However, we note with some concern that it paid out 94% of its free cash flow last year, which is uncomfortably high and makes us wonder why the company chose to spend even more cash on buybacks. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of PBG's dividend merits.

If you want to look further into PBG, it's worth knowing the risks this business faces. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with PBG and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.