Yahoo Finance Interested In Primary Health Properties Plc (LON:PHP)’s Upcoming 1.1% Dividend? You Have 2 Days Left
Readers hoping to buy Primary Health Properties Plc (LON:PHP) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 10th of October to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of November.
Primary Health Properties's next dividend payment will be UK£0.01 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of UK£0.06 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Primary Health Properties has a trailing yield of 4.2% on the current stock price of £1.332. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether Primary Health Properties has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
View our latest analysis for Primary Health Properties
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. Primary Health Properties is paying out an acceptable 53% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. While Primary Health Properties seems to be paying out a very high percentage of its income, REITs have different dividend payment behaviour and so, while we don't think this is great, we also don't think it is unusual. 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 cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. It paid out more than half (53%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Primary Health Properties was unprofitable last year and, unfortunately, the general trend suggests its earnings have been in decline over the last five years, making us wonder if the dividend is sustainable at all.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Primary Health Properties has delivered 2.8% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. Growing the dividend payout ratio while earnings are declining can deliver nice returns for a while, but it's always worth checking for when the company can't increase the payout ratio any more - because then the music stops.
Get our latest analysis on Primary Health Properties's balance sheet health here.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Primary Health Properties? It's hard to get used to Primary Health Properties paying a dividend despite reporting a loss over the past year. At least the dividend was covered by free cash flow, however. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.
Curious what other investors think of Primary Health Properties? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
