Yahoo Finance Do These 3 Checks Before Buying Abitibi Royalties Inc. (CVE:RZZ) For Its Upcoming Dividend
It looks like Abitibi Royalties Inc. (CVE:RZZ) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Therefore, if you purchase Abitibi Royalties' shares on or after the 2nd of September, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 30th of September.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.015 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.18 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Abitibi Royalties has a trailing yield of 0.9% on the current share price of CA$20.9. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Abitibi Royalties's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Abitibi Royalties has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
View our latest analysis for Abitibi Royalties
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. Abitibi Royalties's dividend is not well covered by earnings, as the company lost money last year. This is not a sustainable state of affairs, so it would be worth investigating if earnings are expected to recover. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the dividend. If Abitibi Royalties didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term.
Click here to see how much of its profit Abitibi Royalties 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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Abitibi Royalties was unprofitable last year, but at least the general trend suggests its earnings have been improving over the past five years. Even so, an unprofitable company whose business does not quickly recover is usually not a good candidate for dividend investors.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Abitibi Royalties has delivered an average of 22% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past two years of dividend payments. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
We update our analysis on Abitibi Royalties every 24 hours, so you can always get the latest insights on its financial health, here.
Final Takeaway
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Abitibi Royalties? First, it's not great to see the company paying a dividend despite being loss-making over the last year. Second, the dividend was not well covered by cash flow." Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.
Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Abitibi Royalties. For example, we've found 1 warning sign for Abitibi Royalties that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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.
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