Firm Capital Mortgage Investment (TSE:FC) Will Pay A Dividend Of CA$0.078

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The board of Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (TSE:FC) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 15th of February, with investors receiving CA$0.078 per share. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 6.7%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Based on the last payment, the dividend made up 80% of cash flows, but a higher proportion of net income. This indicates that the company could be more focused on returning cash to shareholders than reinvesting to grow the business.

If the company can't turn things around, EPS could fall by 2.5% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 111%, which could put the dividend in jeopardy if the company's earnings don't improve.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2012, the first annual payment was CA$1.01, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CA$0.95. Payments have been decreasing at a very slow pace in this time period. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Firm Capital Mortgage Investment has seen earnings per share falling at 2.5% per year over the last five years. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Firm Capital Mortgage Investment's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn't the best. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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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.

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