Interested In Packaging Corporation of America's (NYSE:PKG) Upcoming US$0.79 Dividend? You Have Four Days Left

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 14th of September, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 15th of October.

Packaging Corporation of America's upcoming dividend is US$0.79 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$3.16 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Packaging Corporation of America has a trailing yield of approximately 3.1% on its current stock price of $103.48. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Packaging Corporation of America

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. Packaging Corporation of America paid out more than half (58%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. 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. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 40% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.

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?

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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see Packaging Corporation of America earnings per share are up 6.4% per annum over the last five years. Decent historical earnings per share growth suggests Packaging Corporation of America has been effectively growing value for shareholders. However, it's now paying out more than half its earnings as dividends. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Packaging Corporation of America has increased its dividend at approximately 18% a year on average. 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.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Packaging Corporation of America for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share growth has been modest and Packaging Corporation of America paid out over half of its profits and less than half of its free cash flow, although both payout ratios are within normal limits. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there.

So while Packaging Corporation of America looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Packaging Corporation of America that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

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.

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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