Is BHP Billiton’s Dividend Safe? Dividend Cut Risk Examined

BHP Billiton (BBL) is the largest publicly traded mining corporation in the world.The mining behemoth is one of Australia’s top dividend stocks.

The downturn in metal and energy prices has deeply affected BHP Billiton’s operations.The company’s share price has collapsed.

BHP Billiton stock is trading around absolute lows not seen since the Great Recession.

Source:  Finviz

Despite the decline in metal and energy prices, BHP Billiton has not cut its dividend.

Yet…

This article takes a detailed look at BHP’s:

BHP’s Dividend Yield

It’s not surprising that dividend investors are interested in BHP Billiton.  The company has an exceptionally high dividend yield.

BHP Billiton stock currently has a dividend yield of 12.1% (no, that is not a typo).The company is among the highest yielding large cap stocks.  

There are only 9 other publicly traded stocks in the United States with market caps above $10 billion and dividend yields above 10% :

Yields of 10%+ are unusual for shareholders of BBL.The stock’s dividend yield has slowly risen over the last 10+ years.

BHP’s Dividend History

BHP’s management has steadily increased its dividend payments over the last decade

Rising dividend payments and the steep share price declines have resulted in double digit dividend yields.