Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A US$0.12 Dividend

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Therefore, if you purchase Hewlett Packard Enterprise's shares on or after the 9th of December, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 7th of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.12 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.48 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a trailing yield of 3.2% on the current stock price of $15.17. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is paying out just 18% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The good news is it paid out just 19% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Hewlett Packard Enterprise earnings per share are up 6.8% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been increasing steadily and management is reinvesting almost all of the profits back into the business. If profits are reinvested effectively, this could be a bullish combination for future earnings and dividends.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has delivered 14% dividend growth per year on average over the past six years. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Has Hewlett Packard Enterprise got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. We would prefer to see earnings growing faster, but the best dividend stocks over the long term typically combine significant earnings per share growth with a low payout ratio, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is halfway there. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

So while Hewlett Packard Enterprise looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

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. 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.