Yahoo Finance There's A Lot To Like About Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's (CVE:MAR.UN) Upcoming CA$0.001275 Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (CVE:MAR.UN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's shares before the 29th of April to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of May.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.001275 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.015 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has a trailing yield of 1.8% on the current share price of CA$0.85. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust
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. Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust is paying out just 1.5% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.
When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.
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. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For that reason, it's encouraging to see Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings over the past year have risen 156%. While we'd be remiss not to point out that a year is a very short time in dividend investing, it's an encouraging sign so far.
One year is a very short time frame in the pantheon of investing, so we wouldn't get too hung up on these numbers.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has delivered 1.0% dividend growth per year on average over the past two years. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
To Sum It Up
Is Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. In summary, Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.
In light of that, while Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. For example, we've found 4 warning signs for Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before investing in the shares.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.
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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.
