Don't Race Out To Buy Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Just Because It's Going Ex-Dividend

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 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. Therefore, if you purchase Expand Energy's shares on or after the 15th of May, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 4th of June.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.575 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$2.44 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Expand Energy has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current stock price of US$112.38. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Expand Energy can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

We've discovered 2 warning signs about Expand Energy. View them for free.

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. Expand Energy paid a dividend last year despite being unprofitable. This might be a one-off event, but it's not a sustainable state of affairs in the long run. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the 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. Expand Energy paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 110%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly high. It's hard to consistently pay out more cash than you generate without either borrowing or using company cash, so we'd wonder how the company justifies this payout level.

Check out our latest analysis for Expand Energy

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 fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Expand Energy was unprofitable last year, but at least the general trend suggests its earnings have 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.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, four years ago, Expand Energy has lifted its dividend by approximately 15% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Expand Energy's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here.

Final Takeaway

Is Expand Energy an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? We're a bit uncomfortable with it paying a dividend while being loss-making, especially given that the dividend was not well covered by free cash flow. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

With that being said, if you're still considering Expand Energy as an investment, you'll find it beneficial to know what risks this stock is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Expand Energy you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield 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.