Yahoo Finance Stelco Holdings Inc. (TSE:STLC) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon
It looks like Stelco Holdings Inc. (TSE:STLC) is about to go 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. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Thus, you can purchase Stelco Holdings' shares before the 13th of May in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 20th of May.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.30 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$1.20 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Stelco Holdings has a trailing yield of 2.9% on the current share price of CA$41.89. 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 check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Stelco Holdings
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Stelco Holdings has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 4.1% of its income after tax. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Luckily it paid out just 4.7% of its free cash flow last year.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's encouraging to see Stelco Holdings has grown its earnings rapidly, up 104% a year for the past five years. Stelco Holdings earnings per share have been sprinting ahead like the Road Runner at a track and field day; scarcely stopping even for a cheeky "beep-beep". We also like that it is reinvesting most of its profits in its business.'
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, four years ago, Stelco Holdings has lifted its dividend by approximately 32% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.
To Sum It Up
Has Stelco Holdings got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's great that Stelco Holdings is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. Stelco Holdings looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
In light of that, while Stelco Holdings has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Stelco Holdings (2 are potentially serious!) 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.
