Yahoo Finance Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. (LON:YNGA) Stock Goes Ex-Dividend In Just Two Days
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. (LON:YNGA) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 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. This means that investors who purchase Young's Brewery's shares on or after the 17th of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 2nd of December.
The company's upcoming dividend is UK£0.10 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK£0.21 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Young's Brewery has a trailing yield of approximately 1.8% on its current stock price of £11.3. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for Young's Brewery
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fortunately Young's Brewery's payout ratio is modest, at just 36% of profit. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. It distributed 30% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.
It's positive to see that Young's Brewery'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?
Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's not encouraging to see that Young's Brewery's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Young's Brewery has increased its dividend at approximately 3.9% a year on average.
To Sum It Up
Has Young's Brewery got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been flat, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend gets cut. To summarise, Young's Brewery looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity.
In light of that, while Young's Brewery has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. For example - Young's Brewery has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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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