It Might Not Be A Great Idea To Buy AmRest Holdings SE (WSE:EAT) For Its Next Dividend

Readers hoping to buy AmRest Holdings SE (WSE:EAT) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date is commonly two business days before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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 AmRest Holdings' shares before the 18th of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of December.

The company's upcoming dividend is €0.07 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of €0.07 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, AmRest Holdings has a trailing yield of approximately 2.1% on its current stock price of zł13.88. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. 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. AmRest Holdings paid a dividend last year despite being unprofitable. This might be a one-off event, but it's not a sustainable state of affairs in the long run. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Luckily it paid out just 7.0% of its free cash flow last year.

Check out our latest analysis for AmRest Holdings

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see AmRest Holdings's earnings per share have dropped 19% a year over the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

Given that AmRest Holdings has only been paying a dividend for a year, there's not much of a past history to draw insight from.

To Sum It Up

Is AmRest Holdings worth buying for its dividend? It's never great to see earnings per share declining, especially when a company is paying out -221% of its profit as dividends, which we feel is uncomfortably high. However, the cash payout ratio was much lower - good news from a dividend perspective - which makes us wonder why there is such a mis-match between income and cashflow. 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 AmRest Holdings. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for AmRest Holdings that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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.