Yahoo Finance Here's Why We're Wary Of Buying CountPlus' (ASX:CUP) For Its Upcoming Dividend
CountPlus Limited (ASX:CUP) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Therefore, if you purchase CountPlus' shares on or after the 23rd of September, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 13th of October.
The company's next dividend payment will be AU$0.015 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of AU$0.03 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CountPlus stock has a trailing yield of around 3.3% on the current share price of A$0.9. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for CountPlus
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. CountPlus paid out more than half (62%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether CountPlus generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out more than half (52%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's positive to see that CountPlus's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're discomforted by CountPlus's 18% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. CountPlus's dividend payments per share have declined at 9.3% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid CountPlus? While earnings per share are shrinking, it's encouraging to see that at least CountPlus's dividend appears sustainable, with earnings and cashflow payout ratios that are within reasonable bounds. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.
Although, if you're still interested in CountPlus and want to know more, you'll find it very useful to know what risks this stock faces. For example, we've found 4 warning signs for CountPlus 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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