Don't Buy Shoucheng Holdings Limited (HKG:697) For Its Next Dividend Without Doing These Checks

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 Shoucheng Holdings Limited (HKG:697) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. The ex-dividend date is two business days before a company's record date in most cases, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can purchase Shoucheng Holdings' shares before the 15th of December in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 29th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be HK$0.0351 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of HK$0.045 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Shoucheng Holdings has a trailing yield of approximately 2.2% on its current stock price of HK$2.03. 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.

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Shoucheng Holdings is paying out an acceptable 74% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Shoucheng Holdings generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Over the past year it paid out 176% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.

Shoucheng Holdings does have a large net cash position on the balance sheet, which could fund large dividends for a time, if the company so chose. Still, smart investors know that it is better to assess dividends relative to the cash and profit generated by the business. Paying dividends out of cash on the balance sheet is not long-term sustainable.

While Shoucheng Holdings's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Shoucheng Holdings's ability to maintain its dividend.

Check out our latest analysis for Shoucheng Holdings

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. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Shoucheng Holdings's 6.7% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Shoucheng Holdings has seen its dividend decline 14% per annum on average over the past seven years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Has Shoucheng Holdings got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's definitely not great to see earnings per share shrinking. The company paid out an acceptable percentage of its income, but an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow over the past year. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.

So if you're still interested in Shoucheng Holdings despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. For example - Shoucheng Holdings has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.