Should You Buy Adeka Corporation (TSE:4401) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Adeka Corporation (TSE:4401) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is two business days before the record date, which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible 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. Accordingly, Adeka investors that purchase the stock on or after the 28th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of June.

The company's upcoming dividend is JP¥49.00 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of JP¥97.00 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Adeka has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current share price of JP¥2811.50. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Fortunately Adeka's payout ratio is modest, at just 39% of profit. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Adeka generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 25% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.

It's positive to see that Adeka'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 Adeka

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see Adeka earnings per share are up 8.8% per annum over the last five years. Management have been reinvested more than half of the company's earnings within the business, and the company has been able to grow earnings with this retained capital. Organisations that reinvest heavily in themselves typically get stronger over time, which can bring attractive benefits such as stronger earnings and dividends.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Adeka has lifted its dividend by approximately 15% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

To Sum It Up

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Adeka? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Adeka is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but Adeka is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

Curious what other investors think of Adeka? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.

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