Looking For Steady Income For Your Dividend Portfolio? Is Aeria Inc. (TYO:3758) A Good Fit?

Dividend paying stocks like Aeria Inc. (TYO:3758) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments.

While Aeria's 0.8% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. During the year, the company also conducted a buyback equivalent to around 3.1% of its market capitalisation. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Aeria for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.

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Payout ratios

Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Although it reported a loss over the past 12 months, Aeria currently pays a dividend. When a company recently reported a loss, we should investigate if its cash flows covered the dividend.

Unfortunately, while Aeria pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective.

While the above analysis focuses on dividends relative to a company's earnings, we do note Aeria's strong net cash position, which will let it pay larger dividends for a time, should it choose.

Consider getting our latest analysis on Aeria's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Aeria's dividend payments. This dividend has been unstable, which we define as having been cut one or more times over this time. During the past 10-year period, the first annual payment was JP¥11.0 in 2011, compared to JP¥5.0 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around 7.6% a year during that period. Aeria's dividend hasn't shrunk linearly at 7.6% per annum, but the CAGR is a useful estimate of the historical rate of change.

We struggle to make a case for buying Aeria for its dividend, given that payments have shrunk over the past 10 years.

Dividend Growth Potential

Given that dividend payments have been shrinking like a glacier in a warming world, we need to check if there are some bright spots on the horizon. Aeria's EPS have fallen by approximately 18% per year during the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective, as even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Aeria's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. We're a bit uncomfortable with Aeria paying a dividend while loss-making, especially since the dividend was also not well covered by free cash flow. Earnings per share are down, and Aeria's dividend has been cut at least once in the past, which is disappointing. There are a few too many issues for us to get comfortable with Aeria from a dividend perspective. Businesses can change, but we would struggle to identify why an investor should rely on this stock for their income.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Aeria that investors should take into consideration.

We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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