How Does Flexsteel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLXS) Fare As A Dividend Stock?
Today we'll take a closer look at Flexsteel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLXS) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.
In this case, Flexsteel Industries likely looks attractive to investors, given its 4.4% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. That said, the recent jump in the share price will make Flexsteel Industries's dividend yield look smaller, even though the company prospects could be improving. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below.
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Payout ratios
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. While Flexsteel Industries pays a dividend, it reported a loss over the last year. When a company is loss-making, we next need to check to see if its cash flows can support the dividend.
Unfortunately, while Flexsteel Industries pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective.
With a strong net cash balance, Flexsteel Industries investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective.
Consider getting our latest analysis on Flexsteel Industries's financial position here.
Dividend Volatility
Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Flexsteel Industries's dividend payments. During this period the dividend has been stable, which could imply the business could have relatively consistent earnings power. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.20 in 2010, compared to US$0.88 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 16% per year over this time.
It's rare to find a company that has grown its dividends rapidly over ten years and not had any notable cuts, but Flexsteel Industries has done it, which we really like.
Dividend Growth Potential
Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Over the past five years, it looks as though Flexsteel Industries's EPS have declined at around 33% a year. With this kind of significant decline, we always wonder what has changed in the business. Dividends are about stability, and Flexsteel Industries's earnings per share, which support the dividend, have been anything but stable.
Conclusion
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. Flexsteel Industries's dividend is not well covered by free cash flow, plus it paid a dividend while being unprofitable. Second, earnings per share have actually shrunk, but at least the dividends have been relatively stable. In this analysis, Flexsteel Industries doesn't shape up too well as a dividend stock. We'd find it hard to look past the flaws, and would not be inclined to think of it as a reliable dividend-payer.
Are management backing themselves to deliver performance? Check their shareholdings in Flexsteel Industries in our latest insider ownership analysis.
If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
