Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Accord Financial Corp. (TSE:ACD) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
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 Accord Financial Corp. (TSE:ACD) is about to go ex-dividend in just 2 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. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Accordingly, Accord Financial investors that purchase the stock on or after the 12th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.075 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$0.30 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Accord Financial has a trailing yield of 3.3% on the current share price of CA$9.1. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Accord Financial
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. Accord Financial is paying out just 23% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. Accord Financial paid a dividend despite reporting negative free cash flow last year. That's typically a bad combination and - if this were more than a one-off - not sustainable.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see how much of its profit Accord Financial paid out over the last 12 months.
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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Accord Financial, with earnings per share up 7.0% on average over the last five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. It looks like the Accord Financial dividends are largely the same as they were 10 years ago.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy Accord Financial for the upcoming dividend? It has been growing its earnings per share somewhat in recent years, although it reinvests more than half its earnings in the business, which could suggest there are some growth projects that have not yet reached fruition. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Accord Financial more closely.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. For example, Accord Financial has 3 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
