United Maritime (NASDAQ:USEA) Is Paying Out Less In Dividends Than Last Year

United Maritime Corporation's (NASDAQ:USEA) dividend is being reduced from last year's payment covering the same period to $0.01 on the 10th of April. This payment takes the dividend yield to 2.7%, which only provides a modest boost to overall returns.

United Maritime Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Despite not generating a profit, United Maritime is still paying a dividend. The company is also yet to generate cash flow, so the dividend sustainability is definitely questionable.

Recent, EPS has fallen by 78.0%, so this could continue over the next year. This means the company won't be turning a profit, which could place managers in the tough spot of having to choose between suspending the dividend or putting more pressure on the balance sheet.

See our latest analysis for United Maritime

United Maritime's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Even in its short history, we have seen the dividend cut. Since 2023, the dividend has gone from $0.30 total annually to $0.04. As we can see, dividend payments have fallen heavily from where they were 2 years ago. 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 Potential Is Shaky

With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS is growing. Earnings per share has been sinking by 78% over the last three years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

We're Not Big Fans Of United Maritime's Dividend

To sum up, we don't like when dividends are cut, but in this case the dividend may have been too high to begin with. The company isn't making enough to be paying as much as it is, and the other factors don't look particularly promising either. Considering all of these factors, we wouldn't rely on this dividend if we wanted to live on the income.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for United Maritime (2 can't be ignored!) 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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