Here's What We Like About TPC Consolidated's (ASX:TPC) Upcoming Dividend

Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that TPC Consolidated Limited (ASX:TPC) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 9th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of March.

TPC Consolidated's next dividend payment will be AU$0.08 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of AU$0.16 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, TPC Consolidated has a trailing yield of 5.9% on the current stock price of A$2.71. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for TPC Consolidated

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. Fortunately TPC Consolidated's payout ratio is modest, at just 38% of profit. 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. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 12% of its cash flow last year.

It's positive to see that TPC Consolidated's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

Click here to see how much of its profit TPC Consolidated paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's encouraging to see TPC Consolidated has grown its earnings rapidly, up 61% a year for the past five years. TPC Consolidated is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. TPC Consolidated has delivered an average of 7.2% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. 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.

Final Takeaway

Is TPC Consolidated an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's great that TPC Consolidated is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. TPC Consolidated looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

So while TPC Consolidated looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. For example - TPC Consolidated has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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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