Yahoo Finance We Wouldn't Be Too Quick To Buy Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. (TSE:PZA) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. (TSE:PZA) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase Pizza Pizza Royalty's shares on or after the 30th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.068 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.81 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Pizza Pizza Royalty has a trailing yield of 5.8% on the current stock price of CA$13.94. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for Pizza Pizza Royalty
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Last year, Pizza Pizza Royalty paid out 93% of its income as dividends, which is above a level that we're comfortable with, especially if the company needs to reinvest in its business. 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 95% of its free cash flow in the form of dividends last year, which is outside the comfort zone for most businesses. Companies usually need cash more than they need earnings - expenses don't pay themselves - so it's not great to see it paying out so much of its cash flow.
As Pizza Pizza Royalty's dividend was not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we would be concerned that this dividend could be at risk over the long term.
Click here to see how much of its profit Pizza Pizza Royalty paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's not encouraging to see that Pizza Pizza Royalty's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Pizza Pizza Royalty has delivered 1.5% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years.
Final Takeaway
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Pizza Pizza Royalty? It's been unable to generate earnings growth, yet is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of both its profits (93%) and cash flow (95%) as dividends. Bottom line: Pizza Pizza Royalty has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors.
So if you're still interested in Pizza Pizza Royalty despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. For example - Pizza Pizza Royalty has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
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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