Altius Minerals Corporation (TSE:ALS) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Altius Minerals Corporation (TSE:ALS) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Accordingly, Altius Minerals investors that purchase the stock on or after the 29th of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.07 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$0.28 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Altius Minerals has a trailing yield of approximately 1.6% on its current stock price of CA$17.25. 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 Altius Minerals

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Altius Minerals has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 18% of its income after tax. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Fortunately, it paid out only 31% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's positive to see that Altius Minerals'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?

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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see Altius Minerals has grown its earnings rapidly, up 50% a year for the past five years. Altius Minerals 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.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Altius Minerals has delivered 20% dividend growth per year on average over the past seven years. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

Final Takeaway

Has Altius Minerals got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? We love that Altius Minerals is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Altius Minerals looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. For example, Altius Minerals has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.

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