Should You Buy Maezawa Industries, Inc. (TSE:6489) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

It looks like Maezawa Industries, Inc. (TSE:6489) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is commonly two business days 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 an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Accordingly, Maezawa Industries investors that purchase the stock on or after the 27th of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of February.

The company's next dividend payment will be JP¥24.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of JP¥48.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Maezawa Industries stock has a trailing yield of around 2.5% on the current share price of JP¥1928.00. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

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If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Maezawa Industries paid out a comfortable 28% 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. It paid out 18% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

It's positive to see that Maezawa Industries'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.

Check out our latest analysis for Maezawa Industries

Click here to see how much of its profit Maezawa Industries paid out over the last 12 months.

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. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Maezawa Industries's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 25% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Maezawa Industries has delivered 23% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

To Sum It Up

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Maezawa Industries? It's great that Maezawa Industries is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Maezawa Industries is facing. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Maezawa Industries and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

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.