Yahoo Finance Finning International Inc. (TSE:FTT) Will Pay A CA$0.25 Dividend In Four Days
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Finning International Inc. (TSE:FTT) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 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. In other words, investors can purchase Finning International's shares before the 22nd of November in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 7th of December.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.25 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$1.00 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Finning International has a trailing yield of approximately 2.7% on its current stock price of CA$36.54. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Finning International's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Finning International
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. Finning International is paying out just 24% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. 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. Finning International paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 144%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly 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.
Finning International paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Finning International to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Finning International's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 25% per annum for the past five years. Earnings have been growing quickly, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Finning International has delivered 5.1% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
Final Takeaway
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Finning International? We like that Finning International has been successfully growing its earnings per share at a nice rate and reinvesting most of its profits in the business. However, we note the high cashflow payout ratio with some concern. In summary, while it has some positive characteristics, we're not inclined to race out and buy Finning International today.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks Finning International is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Finning International (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares.
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
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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.
