Yahoo Finance Why It Might Not Make Sense To Buy Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) For Its Upcoming Dividend
Readers hoping to buy Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE:PKE) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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. This means that investors who purchase Park Aerospace's shares on or after the 30th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 4th of November.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.10 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.40 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Park Aerospace has a trailing yield of approximately 2.9% on its current stock price of $13.83. 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! So we need to investigate whether Park Aerospace can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for Park Aerospace
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Park Aerospace distributed an unsustainably high 137% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without more sustainable payment behaviour, the dividend looks precarious. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Park Aerospace generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Over the past year it paid out 138% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.
Park Aerospace does have a large net cash position on the balance sheet, which could fund large dividends for a time, if the company so chose. Still, smart investors know that it is better to assess dividends relative to the cash and profit generated by the business. Paying dividends out of cash on the balance sheet is not long-term sustainable.
As Park Aerospace's dividend was not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we would be concerned that this dividend could be at risk over the long term.
Click here to see how much of its profit Park Aerospace paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Park Aerospace's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 20% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. It looks like the Park Aerospace dividends are largely the same as they were 10 years ago. When earnings are declining yet the dividends are flat, typically the company is either paying out a higher portion of its earnings, or paying out of cash or debt on the balance sheet, neither of which is ideal.
Final Takeaway
Is Park Aerospace an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Not only are earnings per share declining, but Park Aerospace is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of both its earnings and cashflow to shareholders as dividends. Unless there are grounds to believe a turnaround is imminent, this is one of the least attractive dividend stocks under this analysis. With the way things are shaping up from a dividend perspective, we'd be inclined to steer clear of Park Aerospace.
Although, if you're still interested in Park Aerospace and want to know more, you'll find it very useful to know what risks this stock faces. Be aware that Park Aerospace is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious...
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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