Yahoo Finance Should Income Investors Look At Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSE:POU) Before Its Ex-Dividend?
It looks like Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSE:POU) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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, Paramount Resources investors that purchase the stock on or after the 14th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 29th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.10 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$1.20 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Paramount Resources has a trailing yield of 4.3% on the current stock price of CA$27.85. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Paramount Resources
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Paramount Resources paid out just 16% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. 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 distributed 27% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.
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?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Paramount Resources's 18% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.
Unfortunately Paramount Resources has only been paying a dividend for a year or so, so there's not much of a history to draw insight from.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy Paramount Resources for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share are down meaningfully, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend needs to be cut. In summary, it's hard to get excited about Paramount Resources from a dividend perspective.
So while Paramount Resources looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. We've identified 3 warning signs with Paramount Resources (at least 1 which is potentially serious), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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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