Hakudo Co., Ltd. (TSE:7637) Will Pay A JP¥27.00 Dividend In Three Days

Hakudo Co., Ltd. (TSE:7637) 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 as the process of settlement involves at least two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Hakudo's shares before the 29th of September to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 12th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be JP¥27.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of JP¥94.00 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Hakudo has a trailing yield of approximately 3.5% on its current stock price of JP¥2299.00. 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.

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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. Hakudo paid out more than half (55%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. 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. Over the past year it paid out 117% 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.

Hakudo 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 Hakudo'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 Hakudo's ability to maintain its dividend.

Check out our latest analysis for Hakudo

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

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. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Hakudo, with earnings per share up 9.9% on average over the last five years. Earnings have been growing at a steady rate, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Hakudo has delivered an average of 8.9% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Is Hakudo worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share have grown somewhat, although Hakudo paid out over half its profits and the dividend was not well covered by free cash flow. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Hakudo don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Hakudo that you should be aware of before investing in their 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.