Here's What We Like About Accord Financial's (TSE:ACD) Upcoming Dividend

Accord Financial Corp. (TSE:ACD) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase Accord Financial's shares on or after the 12th of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.075 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$0.30 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Accord Financial has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current share price of CA$8.57. 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! As a result, readers should always check whether Accord Financial has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for Accord Financial

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Accord Financial has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 14% of its income after tax. Accord Financial paid a dividend despite reporting negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. This may be due to heavy investment in the business, but this is still suboptimal from a dividend sustainability perspective.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

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

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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Accord Financial's earnings per share have been growing at 12% a year for the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Accord Financial's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were 10 years ago.

To Sum It Up

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Accord Financial? Companies like Accord Financial that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Accord Financial more closely.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Be aware that Accord Financial is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 3 of those are potentially serious...

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are 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.