Three Days Left To Buy Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) Before The Ex-Dividend Date

Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day 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 important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Archrock's shares before the 9th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.14 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.58 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Archrock has a trailing yield of 6.4% on the current share price of $9.08. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Archrock's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Archrock

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. An unusually high payout ratio of 325% of its profit suggests something is happening other than the usual distribution of profits to shareholders. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It paid out more than half (64%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.

It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Archrock fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Extraordinarily few companies are capable of persistently paying a dividend that is greater than their profits.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Archrock's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 31% per annum for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Archrock's dividend payments are broadly unchanged compared to where they were eight years ago.

Final Takeaway

Has Archrock got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Growing earnings per share and a normal cashflow payout ratio is an ok combination, but we're concerned that the company is paying out such a high percentage of its income as dividends. Overall we're not hugely bearish on the stock, but there are likely better dividend investments out there.

With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Archrock, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Archrock (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield 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.