ABC arbitrage's (EPA:ABCA) Dividend Will Be €0.10

ABC arbitrage SA's (EPA:ABCA) investors are due to receive a payment of €0.10 per share on 7th of December. This makes the dividend yield 7.5%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for ABC arbitrage

ABC arbitrage's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. The last payment was quite easily covered by earnings, but it made up 103% of cash flows. This signals that the company is more focused on returning cash flow to shareholders, but it could mean that the dividend is exposed to cuts in the future.

Earnings per share is forecast to rise by 28.6% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 86%, which is on the higher side, but certainly still feasible.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of €0.47 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of €0.44. The dividend has shrunk at a rate of less than 1% a year over this period. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. However, ABC arbitrage has only grown its earnings per share at 4.4% per annum over the past five years. ABC arbitrage is struggling to find viable investments, so it is returning more to shareholders. This isn't bad in itself, but unless earnings growth pick up we wouldn't expect dividends to grow either.

In Summary

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. While ABC arbitrage is earning enough to cover the payments, the cash flows are lacking. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for ABC arbitrage that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is ABC arbitrage not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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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.