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It Might Be Better To Avoid U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:SLCA) Upcoming Dividend

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 12th of March will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 3rd of April.

U.S. Silica Holdings's upcoming dividend is US$0.02 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.08 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that U.S. Silica Holdings has a trailing yield of 2.4% on the current share price of $3.28. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether U.S. Silica Holdings can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for U.S. Silica Holdings

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Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. U.S. Silica Holdings lost money last year, so the fact that it's paying a dividend is certainly disconcerting. There might be a good reason for this, but we'd want to look into it further before getting comfortable. Given that the company reported a loss last year, we now need to see if it generated enough free cash flow to fund the dividend. If U.S. Silica Holdings didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term. It paid out 85% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is within usual limits but will limit the company's ability to lift the dividend if there's no growth.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

NYSE:SLCA Historical Dividend Yield, March 8th 2020
NYSE:SLCA Historical Dividend Yield, March 8th 2020

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. U.S. Silica Holdings reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. U.S. Silica Holdings has seen its dividend decline 23% per annum on average over the past seven years, which is not great to see. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of U.S. Silica Holdings's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here.

To Sum It Up

Is U.S. Silica Holdings worth buying for its dividend? First, it's not great to see the company paying a dividend despite being loss-making over the last year. On the plus side, the dividend was covered by free cash flow." With the way things are shaping up from a dividend perspective, we'd be inclined to steer clear of U.S. Silica Holdings.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with U.S. Silica Holdings. We've identified 3 warning signs with U.S. Silica Holdings (at least 2 which are significant), 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.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.