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Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you’re one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Cogeco Inc. (TSE:CGO) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 23rd of July to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 7th of August.
Cogeco’s next dividend payment will be CA$0.43 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$1.72 per share. Based on the last year’s worth of payments, Cogeco stock has a trailing yield of around 1.9% on the current share price of CA$92.3. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
View our latest analysis for Cogeco
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable – hardly an ideal situation. Cogeco paid out 70% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. 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. It paid out 2.5% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It’s encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don’t drop precipitously.
Click here to see how much of its profit Cogeco paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Readers will understand then, why we’re concerned to see Cogeco’s earnings per share have dropped 9.0% a year over the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.
Many investors will assess a company’s dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Cogeco has delivered 18% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. Growing the dividend payout ratio while earnings are declining can deliver nice returns for a while, but it’s always worth checking for when the company can’t increase the payout ratio any more – because then the music stops.
The Bottom Line
Has Cogeco got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? The payout ratios are within a reasonable range, implying the dividend may be sustainable. Declining earnings are a serious concern, however, and could pose a threat to the dividend in future. It might be worth researching if the company is reinvesting in growth projects that could grow earnings and dividends in the future, but for now we’re not all that optimistic on its dividend prospects.
Want to learn more about Cogeco? Here’s a visualisation of its historical rate of revenue and earnings growth.
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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.