VSE (NASDAQ:VSEC) Will Pay A Dividend Of US$0.09

VSE Corporation's (NASDAQ:VSEC) investors are due to receive a payment of US$0.09 per share on 28th of July. The dividend yield is 0.7% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. Investors will be pleased to see that VSE's stock price has increased by 31% in the last 3 months, which is good for shareholders and can also explain a decrease in the dividend yield.

View our latest analysis for VSE

VSE Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Despite not generating a profit, VSE is still paying a dividend. Along with this, it is also not generating free cash flows, which raises concerns about the sustainability of the dividend.

Looking forward, earnings per share could 17.4% over the next year if the trend of the last few years can't be broken. This means the company won't be turning a profit, which could place managers in the tough spot of having to choose between suspending the dividend or putting more pressure on the balance sheet.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least 1 cut in the last 10 years. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$0.12, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$0.36. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though VSE's EPS has declined at around 17% a year. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

The company has also been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 15% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Regularly doing this can be detrimental - it's hard to grow dividends per share when new shares are regularly being created.

We're Not Big Fans Of VSE's Dividend

Overall, while some might be pleased that the dividend wasn't cut, we think this may help VSE make more consistent payments in the future. The company isn't making enough to be paying as much as it is, and the other factors don't look particularly promising either. Overall, the dividend is not reliable enough to make this a good income stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, VSE has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

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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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