Exco Technologies (TSE:XTC) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of CA$0.10

Exco Technologies Limited (TSE:XTC) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CA$0.10 per share on the 31st of December. This makes the dividend yield 4.3%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for Exco Technologies

Exco Technologies' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, Exco Technologies' dividend was only 40% of earnings, however it was paying out 170% of free cash flows. The company might be more focused on returning cash to shareholders, but paying out this much of its cash flow could expose the dividend to being cut in the future.

Looking forward, EPS could fall by 2.7% if the company can't turn things around from the last few years. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 46%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Exco Technologies Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$0.10 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$0.40. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15% a year over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. In the last five years, Exco Technologies' earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.7% per annum. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth.

Our Thoughts On Exco Technologies' Dividend

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Exco Technologies' payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. While the low payout ratio is redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. We don't think Exco Technologies is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Exco Technologies that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

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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.