Should ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) Be Part Of Your Portfolio?
A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. Historically, ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 6.6%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Let's take a look at ARC Resources in more detail.
View our latest analysis for ARC Resources
5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock
When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:
Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?
Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?
Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?
How well does ARC Resources fit our criteria?
The company currently pays out 99% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is not sufficiently covered by its earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a more sensible payout ratio of 90%, which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of around 6.6%. EPS is also forecasted to fall to CA$0.34 in the upcoming year. The lower EPS on top of a lower payout ratio will lead to a fall in dividend payment moving forward.
When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.
If there's one type of stock you want to be reliable, it's dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. Not only have dividend payouts from ARC Resources fallen over the past 10 years, it has also been highly volatile during this time, with drops of over 25% in some years. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends.
Compared to its peers, ARC Resources has a yield of 6.6%, which is high for Oil and Gas stocks.
Next Steps:
If ARC Resources is in your portfolio for cash-generating reasons, there may be better alternatives out there. However, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still offer some interesting investment opportunities. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I've put together three key factors you should look at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for ARX’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for ARX’s outlook.
Valuation: What is ARX worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ARX is currently mispriced by the market.
Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
