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

The board of The Cato Corporation (NYSE:CATO) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.17 per share on the 3rd of April. This makes the dividend yield 7.4%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for Cato

Cato Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. 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.

Recent, EPS has fallen by 6.2%, so this could continue over the next year. This means the company will be unprofitable and managers could face the tough choice between continuing to pay the dividend or taking pressure off the balance sheet.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $1.00 total annually to $0.68. The dividend has shrunk at around 3.8% a year during that period. 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 May Be Hard To Come By

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though Cato's EPS has declined at around 6.2% a year. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends.

We're Not Big Fans Of Cato's Dividend

Overall, this isn't a great candidate as an income investment, even though the dividend was stable this year. 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. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for Cato that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is Cato 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.