Yahoo Finance Don't Buy Algoma Central Corporation (TSE:ALC) For Its Next Dividend Without Doing These Checks
Algoma Central Corporation (TSE:ALC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Investors can purchase shares before the 17th of August in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of September.
Algoma Central's next dividend payment will be CA$0.13 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.52 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Algoma Central has a trailing yield of 4.9% on the current share price of CA$10.6. 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! As a result, readers should always check whether Algoma Central has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Algoma Central
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Last year, Algoma Central paid out 90% of its income as dividends, which is above a level that we're comfortable with, especially if the company needs to reinvest in its business. 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. It paid out 18% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It's good to see that while Algoma Central's dividends were not well covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if this were to happen repeatedly, we'd be concerned about whether the dividend is sustainable in a downturn.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Algoma Central's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 17% a year over the previous five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Algoma Central has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. Algoma Central is already paying out 90% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.
The Bottom Line
Should investors buy Algoma Central for the upcoming dividend? It's not a great combination to see a company with earnings in decline and paying out 90% of its profits, which could imply the dividend may be at risk of being cut in the future. However, the cash payout ratio was much lower - good news from a dividend perspective - which makes us wonder why there is such a mis-match between income and cashflow. Bottom line: Algoma Central has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors.
With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Algoma Central don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. We've identified 3 warning signs with Algoma Central (at least 1 which can't be ignored), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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