Yahoo Finance There's A Lot To Like About Eagers Automotive's (ASX:APE) Upcoming AU$0.22 Dividend
Eagers Automotive Limited (ASX:APE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Eagers Automotive's shares on or after the 2nd of September, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 23rd of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be AU$0.22 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of AU$0.85 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Eagers Automotive has a trailing yield of 6.8% on the current stock price of A$12.55. 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! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Eagers Automotive
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. Eagers Automotive paid out 54% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It paid out more than half (63%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's positive to see that Eagers Automotive'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?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. For this reason, we're glad to see Eagers Automotive's earnings per share have risen 16% per annum over the last five years. Eagers Automotive has an average payout ratio which suggests a balance between growing earnings and rewarding shareholders. This is a reasonable combination that could hint at some further dividend increases in the future.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Eagers Automotive has delivered an average of 18% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
Final Takeaway
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Eagers Automotive? It's good to see earnings are growing, since all of the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run. However, we'd also note that Eagers Automotive is paying out more than half of its earnings and cash flow as profits, which could limit the dividend growth if earnings growth slows. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Eagers Automotive's dividend merits.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Eagers Automotive (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable) 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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