Yahoo Finance Here's Why We're Wary Of Buying Royalty Pharma's (NASDAQ:RPRX) For Its Upcoming Dividend
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Accordingly, Royalty Pharma investors that purchase the stock on or after the 18th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.19 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.76 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Royalty Pharma has a trailing yield of 1.7% on the current stock price of $44.2. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for Royalty Pharma
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. Royalty Pharma paid out 67% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Royalty Pharma generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. The company paid out 100% of its free cash flow over the last year, which we think is outside the ideal range for most businesses. Cash flows are usually much more volatile than earnings, so this could be a temporary effect - but we'd generally want to look more closely here.
Royalty Pharma paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Royalty Pharma's ability to maintain its dividend.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Royalty Pharma's earnings have collapsed faster than Wile E Coyote's schemes to trap the Road Runner; down a tremendous 69% a year over the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Royalty Pharma has delivered 13% dividend growth per year on average over the past two 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.
Final Takeaway
Is Royalty Pharma an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's definitely not great to see earnings per share shrinking. The company paid out an acceptable percentage of its income, but an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow over the past year. Bottom line: Royalty Pharma has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors.
With that being said, if you're still considering Royalty Pharma as an investment, you'll find it beneficial to know what risks this stock is facing. For example - Royalty Pharma has 4 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.
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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.
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