Yahoo Finance It Might Not Be A Great Idea To Buy Avast Plc (LON:AVST) For Its Next Dividend
Avast Plc (LON:AVST) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. You will need to purchase shares before the 13th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of June.
Avast's next dividend payment will be US$0.11 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.16 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Avast has a trailing yield of approximately 2.5% on its current stock price of £4.633. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Avast's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Avast
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. Avast paid out 96% of its earnings, which is more than we're comfortable with, unless there are mitigating circumstances. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 35% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
It's good to see that while Avast's dividends were not well covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company continues paying out such a high percentage of its profits, the dividend could be at risk if business turns sour.
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 decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Readers will understand then, why we're concerned to see Avast's earnings per share have dropped 26% a year over 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. In the past two years, Avast has increased its dividend at approximately 8.5% a year on average. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. Avast is already paying out 96% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.
Final Takeaway
Is Avast an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's not a great combination to see a company with earnings in decline and paying out 96% of its profits, which could imply the dividend may be at risk of being cut in the future. However, the cash payout ratio was much lower - good news from a dividend perspective - which makes us wonder why there is such a mis-match between income and cashflow. 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 Avast. For example - Avast has 4 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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.
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. 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
