We Wouldn't Be Too Quick To Buy Eagon Industrial Co., Ltd. (KRX:008250) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

Readers hoping to buy Eagon Industrial Co., Ltd. (KRX:008250) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day 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 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. This means that investors who purchase Eagon Industrial's shares on or after the 27th of December will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 23rd of April.

The company's next dividend payment will be ₩100.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of ₩100.00 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Eagon Industrial has a trailing yield of 2.0% on the current share price of ₩5090.00. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Eagon Industrial has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Eagon Industrial

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Eagon Industrial lost money last year, so the fact that it's paying a dividend is certainly disconcerting. There might be a good reason for this, but we'd want to look into it further before getting comfortable. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the dividend. If Eagon Industrial didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term. It paid out 15% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Eagon Industrial was unprofitable last year and, unfortunately, the general trend suggests its earnings have been in decline over the last five years, making us wonder if the dividend is sustainable at all.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Eagon Industrial's dividend payments per share have declined at 13% per year on average over the past five years, which is uninspiring. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

We update our analysis on Eagon Industrial every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Eagon Industrial? We're a bit uncomfortable with it paying a dividend while being loss-making. However, we note that the dividend was covered by cash flow. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Eagon Industrial. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Eagon Industrial that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.

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.