Cato (NYSE:CATO) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $0.17

The Cato Corporation (NYSE:CATO) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.17 per share on the 3rd of January. This makes the dividend yield 8.0%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for Cato

Cato Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Even in the absence of profits, Cato is 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 6.2% over the next year if the trend of the last few years can't be broken. This will push the company into unprofitability, which means the managers will have to choose between suspending the dividend, or paying it out of cash reserves.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.92 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.68. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 3.0% per year. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

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. In the last five years, Cato's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 6.2% per annum. 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.

Cato's Dividend Doesn't Look Great

In summary, while it is good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we think that at current levels the payment isn't particularly sustainable. The company seems to be stretching itself a bit to make such big payments, but it doesn't appear they can be consistent over time. We don't think that this is a great candidate to be an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Cato that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.