Silvercrest Asset Management Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SAMG) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.21 per share on the 19th of December. This makes the dividend yield 5.9%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.
Estimates Indicate Silvercrest Asset Management Group's Could Struggle to Maintain Dividend Payments In The Future
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, Silvercrest Asset Management Group's dividend was higher than its profits, but the free cash flows quite comfortably covered it. Given that the dividend is a cash outflow, we think that cash is more important than accounting measures of profit when assessing the dividend, so this is a mitigating factor.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 0.9%. If the dividend continues on its recent course, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 103%, which is a bit high and could start applying pressure to the balance sheet.
Check out our latest analysis for Silvercrest Asset Management Group
Silvercrest Asset Management Group Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was $0.48, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $0.84. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 5.8% over that duration. Companies like this can be very valuable over the long term, if the decent rate of growth can be maintained.
Dividend Growth Is Doubtful
The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Unfortunately things aren't as good as they seem. Over the past five years, it looks as though Silvercrest Asset Management Group's EPS has declined at around 6.1% a year. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. Earnings are predicted to grow over the next year, but we would remain cautious until a track record of earnings growth is established.
In Summary
Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. The company has been bring in plenty of cash to cover the dividend, but we don't necessarily think that makes it a great dividend stock. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Silvercrest Asset Management Group that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is Silvercrest Asset Management Group not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out 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.