Four Days Left To Buy Ovintiv Inc. (TSE:OVV) Before The Ex-Dividend Date

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 Ovintiv Inc. (TSE:OVV) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 12th of March, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 31st of March.

Ovintiv's next dividend payment will be US$0.094 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.38 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Ovintiv has a trailing yield of 1.4% on the current stock price of CA$35.18. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for Ovintiv

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Ovintiv lost money last year, so the fact that it's paying a dividend is certainly disconcerting. There might be a good reason for this, but we'd want to look into it further before getting comfortable. With the recent loss, it's important to check if the business generated enough cash to pay its dividend. If cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. Dividends consumed 69% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

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

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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Ovintiv reported a loss last year, but at least the general trend suggests its income has been improving over the past five years. Even so, an unprofitable company whose business does not quickly recover is usually not a good candidate for dividend investors.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Ovintiv has seen its dividend decline 21% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see.

We update our analysis on Ovintiv every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.

Final Takeaway

Is Ovintiv an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? We're a bit uncomfortable with it paying a dividend while being loss-making. However, we note that the dividend was covered by cash flow. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Ovintiv's dividend merits.

So if you want to do more digging on Ovintiv, you'll find it worthwhile knowing the risks that this stock faces. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Ovintiv and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

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.

If you decide to trade Ovintiv, use the lowest-cost* platform that is rated #1 Overall by Barron’s, Interactive Brokers. Trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds on 135 markets, all from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

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