Hess Midstream LP (NYSE:HESM) Will Pay A US$0.50 Dividend In Three Days

Hess Midstream LP (NYSE:HESM) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Hess Midstream's shares on or after the 6th of August, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 13th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.50 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$2.02 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Hess Midstream has a trailing yield of 7.8% on the current stock price of $25.88. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Hess Midstream'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.

View our latest analysis for Hess Midstream

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Hess Midstream distributed an unsustainably high 117% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without extenuating circumstances, we'd consider the dividend at risk of a cut. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Hess Midstream generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. The good news is it paid out just 7.6% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It's good to see that while Hess Midstream's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. If executives were to continue paying more in dividends than the company reported in profits, we'd view this as a warning sign. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.

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. That's why it's comforting to see Hess Midstream's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 28% per annum for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Hess Midstream has delivered 14% dividend growth per year on average over the past four years. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

The Bottom Line

Has Hess Midstream got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's good to see earnings per share growing and low cashflow payout ratio, although we're uncomfortable with Hess Midstream's paying out such a high percentage of its profit. In summary, it's hard to get excited about Hess Midstream from a dividend perspective.

In light of that, while Hess Midstream has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Hess Midstream that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.

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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