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Dividends can be underrated but they form a large part of investment returns, playing an important role in compounding returns in the long run. Historically, Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSI) has been paying a dividend to shareholders. Today it yields 1.5%. Does Computer Programs and Systems tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.
See our latest analysis for Computer Programs and Systems
5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock
When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:
- Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?
- Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
- Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?
- Is its earnings sufficient to payout dividend at the current rate?
- Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?
Does Computer Programs and Systems pass our checks?
The current payout ratio for CPSI is negative, which is not great.
When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot.
If there’s one type of stock you want to be reliable, it’s dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. Dividend payments from Computer Programs and Systems have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. This means that dividend hunters should probably steer clear of the stock, at least for now until the track record improves.
In terms of its peers, Computer Programs and Systems produces a yield of 1.5%, which is high for Healthcare Services stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
After digging a little deeper into Computer Programs and Systems’s yield, it’s easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. There are three important factors you should further examine:
- Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CPSI’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for CPSI’s outlook.
- Valuation: What is CPSI worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether CPSI is currently mispriced by the market.
- Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.