Ford Motor Firm (F 1.41%) has a protracted historical past of paying strong dividends. Whereas Ford is a cyclical firm, and has needed to lower or droop its dividend from time to time, it has all the time prioritized paying a dividend at any time when it may afford to take action.
One motive for that: the Ford household. The descendants of founder Henry Ford management about 40% of the corporate by way of a particular class of inventory. Whereas that class of shares has additional voting privileges, it pays the identical dividend as Ford’s common widespread inventory.
If Ford cuts its dividend, all of its shareholders really feel the ache.
Ford has paid a dividend for many — however not all — of its historical past as a public firm. Picture supply: Ford Motor Firm.
Ford most just lately lower its dividend in March 2020, when it was getting ready to shut down most of its factories in North America and Europe on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reinstated the dividend late in 2021, initially at a decrease degree than it had paid earlier than the pandemic — nevertheless it has since raised the payout to $0.15 per share per quarter, or $0.60 per share per yr.
Except a significant disaster arises, I count on Ford to carry that degree and pay a complete of $0.60 per share in common dividends once more in 2025.
However that may not be all that shareholders can count on.
Lately, when its outcomes have been good, Ford has paid a one-time particular dividend early within the yr along with its common quarterly funds. Just lately, these particular dividends have ranged from $0.05 per share (in 2017) to $0.65 per share (in 2023).
To be clear, Ford may or may not select to pay a particular dividend in January 2025. (It did not pay one in any respect in 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022.) But when it does, that might be a one-time fee that arrives early within the yr along with the corporate’s common $0.15 quarterly dividend, offering a pleasant efficiency increase for shareholders who select to reinvest the dividend (as most ought to).
John Rosevear has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.
