Yahoo Finance Income Investors Should Know That Parkland Corporation (TSE:PKI) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
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 Parkland Corporation (TSE:PKI) is about to go ex-dividend in just two 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 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. Accordingly, Parkland investors that purchase the stock on or after the 21st of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of August.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.10 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$1.23 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Parkland has a trailing yield of approximately 3.1% on its current stock price of CA$39.25. 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.
View our latest analysis for Parkland
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. Last year, Parkland paid out 95% 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 21% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It's good to see that while Parkland's dividends were not well covered by profits, at least they are affordable from a cash perspective. Still, if the company continues paying out such a high percentage of its profits, the dividend could be at risk if business turns sour.
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 fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Parkland's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 23% per annum for the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Parkland's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were 10 years ago.
The Bottom Line
Has Parkland got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's good to see earnings per share growing and low cashflow payout ratio, although we're uncomfortable with Parkland's paying out such a high percentage of its profit. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Parkland from a dividend perspective.
So while Parkland looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Parkland (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares.
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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