Kinross Gold Corporation (TSE:K) Is About To Go Ex-Dividend, And It Pays A 1.5% Yield

Readers hoping to buy Kinross Gold Corporation (TSE:K) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order 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. Thus, you can purchase Kinross Gold's shares before the 30th of May in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 13th of June.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.03 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.12 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Kinross Gold has a trailing yield of 1.5% on the current share price of CA$11.04. 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! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

See our latest analysis for Kinross Gold

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Kinross Gold paid out a comfortable 34% of its profit last year. 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 30% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's positive to see that Kinross Gold'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?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Kinross Gold's 16% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Kinross Gold has seen its dividend decline 2.8% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.

Final Takeaway

Has Kinross Gold got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share are down meaningfully, 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 needs to be cut. Overall, it's hard to get excited about Kinross Gold from a dividend perspective.

While it's tempting to invest in Kinross Gold for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. We've identified 2 warning signs with Kinross Gold (at least 1 which is a bit unpleasant), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.