There's A Lot To Like About Suominen Oyj's (HEL:SUY1V) Upcoming €0.20 Dividend

Readers hoping to buy Suominen Oyj (HEL:SUY1V) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase Suominen Oyj's shares before the 25th of March to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 7th of April.

The company's next dividend payment will be €0.20 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed €0.20 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Suominen Oyj has a trailing yield of approximately 5.4% on its current stock price of €3.675. 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 investigate whether Suominen Oyj can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Suominen Oyj

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Suominen Oyj paid out 56% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Suominen Oyj generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Suominen Oyj 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.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Suominen Oyj earnings per share are up 4.3% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Suominen Oyj has delivered 22% dividend growth per year on average over the past seven years. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Is Suominen Oyj an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Suominen Oyj is paying out a reasonable percentage of its income and an uncomfortably high -176% of its cash flow as dividends. At least earnings per share have been growing steadily. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

So if you're still interested in Suominen Oyj despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Suominen Oyj and understanding them 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.