Should You Buy The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) For Its Dividend?
A large part of investment returns can be generated by dividend-paying stock given their role in compounding returns over time. Historically, The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) has paid a dividend to shareholders. It currently yields 2.2%. Does York Water tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.
See our latest analysis for York Water
5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock
If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:
Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?
Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?
How does York Water fare?
The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 64%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.
If you want to dive deeper into the sustainability of a certain payout ratio, you may wish to consider the cash flow of the business. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.
Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. In the case of YORW it has increased its DPS from $0.48 to $0.67 in the past 10 years. It has also been paying out dividend consistently during this time, as you’d expect for a company increasing its dividend levels. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.
In terms of its peers, York Water produces a yield of 2.2%, which is high for Water Utilities stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
Keeping in mind the dividend characteristics above, York Water is definitely worth considering for investors looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I’ve compiled three essential aspects you should look at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for YORW’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for YORW’s outlook.
Historical Performance: What has YORW’s returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.
Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
