Only Four Days Left To Cash In On Saputo's (TSE:SAP) Dividend

It looks like Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. You can purchase shares before the 22nd of December in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 7th of January.

Saputo's upcoming dividend is CA$0.17 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.70 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Saputo has a trailing yield of approximately 1.9% on its current stock price of CA$36.39. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Saputo has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

See our latest analysis for Saputo

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. Saputo paid out a comfortable 47% of its profit last year. 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. It paid out 23% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

It's positive to see that Saputo'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 the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Saputo's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Saputo has delivered an average of 9.2% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.

Final Takeaway

Has Saputo got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been flat, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend gets cut. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there.

So while Saputo looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Saputo 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.

If you’re looking to trade Saputo, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.