YASKAWA Electric Corporation (TSE:6506) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see YASKAWA Electric Corporation (TSE:6506) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be two business days before the record date, which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase YASKAWA Electric's shares before the 28th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 4th of November.

The company's upcoming dividend is JP¥34.00 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of JP¥68.00 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that YASKAWA Electric has a trailing yield of 2.3% on the current share price of JP¥3002.00. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

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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. That's why it's good to see YASKAWA Electric paying out a modest 32% of its earnings. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether YASKAWA Electric generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out 100% of its free cash flow in the form of dividends last year, which is outside the comfort zone for most businesses. Companies usually need cash more than they need earnings - expenses don't pay themselves - so it's not great to see it paying out so much of its cash flow.

While YASKAWA Electric'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 YASKAWA Electric's ability to maintain its dividend.

See our latest analysis for YASKAWA Electric

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. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see YASKAWA Electric's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 29% per annum for the past five years. Earnings have been growing quickly, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. YASKAWA Electric has delivered an average of 16% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy YASKAWA Electric for the upcoming dividend? We're glad to see the company has been improving its earnings per share while also paying out a low percentage of income. However, it's not great to see it paying out what we see as an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow. Overall, it's hard to get excited about YASKAWA Electric from a dividend perspective.

So while YASKAWA Electric looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for YASKAWA Electric and you should be aware of them before buying any shares.

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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.