Should You Buy Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (TSE:WPM) 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 Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (TSE:WPM) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 24th of November, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 10th of December.

Wheaton Precious Metals's upcoming dividend is US$0.12 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.48 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Wheaton Precious Metals has a trailing yield of 1.1% on the current stock price of CA$54.85. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Wheaton Precious Metals has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for Wheaton Precious Metals

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Fortunately Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is modest, at just 41% of profit. 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 good news is it paid out just 22% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It's positive to see that Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

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. For this reason, we're glad to see Wheaton Precious Metals's earnings per share have risen 11% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Wheaton Precious Metals has increased its dividend at approximately 15% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

To Sum It Up

Is Wheaton Precious Metals worth buying for its dividend? Wheaton Precious Metals 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. Wheaton Precious Metals looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

So while Wheaton Precious Metals looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Wheaton Precious Metals and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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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