Investors In Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) Should Consider This, First

Today we'll take a closer look at Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.

Investors might not know much about Aramark's dividend prospects, even though it has been paying dividends for the last seven years and offers a 1.0% yield. A low yield is generally a turn-off, but if the prospects for earnings growth were strong, investors might be pleasantly surprised by the long-term results. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Aramark for its dividend - read on to learn more.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Aramark!

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Although it reported a loss over the past 12 months, Aramark currently pays a dividend. When a company recently reported a loss, we should investigate if its cash flows covered the dividend.

Last year, Aramark paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable.

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

Dividend Volatility

One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Aramark has been paying a dividend for the past seven years. The company has been paying a stable dividend for a while now, which is great. However we'd prefer to see consistency for a few more years before giving it our full seal of approval. During the past seven-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.3 in 2014, compared to US$0.4 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 5.6% per year over this time.

Aramark has been growing its dividend at a decent rate, and the payments have been stable despite the short payment history. This is a positive start.

Dividend Growth Potential

While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. Aramark's earnings per share have shrunk at 25% a year over the past five years. With this kind of significant decline, we always wonder what has changed in the business. Dividends are about stability, and Aramark's earnings per share, which support the dividend, have been anything but stable.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Aramark's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Aramark's dividend is not well covered by free cash flow, plus it paid a dividend while being unprofitable. Earnings per share are down, and to our mind Aramark has not been paying a dividend long enough to demonstrate its resilience across economic cycles. In this analysis, Aramark doesn't shape up too well as a dividend stock. We'd find it hard to look past the flaws, and would not be inclined to think of it as a reliable dividend-payer.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Aramark 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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