It Might Not Be A Great Idea To Buy Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) For Its Next Dividend

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 12th of November in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 18th of December.

Corning's upcoming dividend is US$0.22 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.88 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Corning has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current share price of $34.71. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Corning can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Corning

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. An unusually high payout ratio of 337% of its profit suggests something is happening other than the usual distribution of profits to shareholders. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Dividends consumed 74% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's good to see that while Corning's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. 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?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Corning's earnings have collapsed faster than Wile E Coyote's schemes to trap the Road Runner; down a tremendous 33% a year over the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Corning has lifted its dividend by approximately 16% a year on average. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. Corning is already paying out 337% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Corning? Earnings per share have been shrinking in recent times. Additionally, Corning is paying out quite a high percentage of its earnings, and more than half its cash flow, so it's hard to evaluate whether the company is reinvesting enough in its business to improve its situation. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

So if you're still interested in Corning despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Corning (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top 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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