Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. You will need to purchase shares before the 14th of October to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of October.
Empire's next dividend payment will be CA$0.13 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$0.52 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Empire has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current share 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. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Empire
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. Empire has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 20% of its income after tax. 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 paid out 9.4% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
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?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Empire earnings per share are up 9.6% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing at a decent rate, and the company is retaining more than three-quarters of its earnings in the business. If profits are reinvested effectively, this could be a bullish combination for future earnings and dividends.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Empire has delivered an average of 7.7% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Has Empire got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been growing moderately, and Empire is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends, which is an attractive combination as it suggests the company is investing in growth. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but Empire is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.
Curious what other investors think of Empire? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.
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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