Yahoo Finance Here's Why We're Wary Of Buying Superior Plus Corp.'s (TSE:SPB) For Its Upcoming Dividend
It looks like Superior Plus Corp. (TSE:SPB) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 30th of July in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of August.
Superior Plus's upcoming dividend is CA$0.06 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.72 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Superior Plus has a trailing yield of 5.4% on the current stock price of CA$13.39. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Superior Plus
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Superior Plus distributed an unsustainably high 150% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without extenuating circumstances, we'd consider the dividend at risk of a cut. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Superior Plus generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Over the last year it paid out 57% of its free cash flow as dividends, within the usual range for most companies.
It's good to see that while Superior Plus's dividends were not covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.
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. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Superior Plus, with earnings per share up 2.3% on average over the last five years.
We'd also point out that Superior Plus issued a meaningful number of new shares in the past year. Trying to grow the dividend while issuing large amounts of new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Superior Plus's dividend payments per share have declined at 7.8% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's unusual to see earnings per share increasing at the same time as dividends per share have been in decline. We'd hope it's because the company is reinvesting heavily in its business, but it could also suggest business is lumpy.
Final Takeaway
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Superior Plus? Earnings per share have not grown all that much, and the company is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of its income. Fortunately it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.
Wondering what the future holds for Superior Plus? See what the six analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
