Here's What We Like About Capral's (ASX:CAA) Upcoming Dividend
Capral Limited (ASX:CAA) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 10th of March, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 26th of March.
Capral's next dividend payment will be AU$0.45 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed AU$0.45 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Capral has a trailing yield of 6.7% on the current share price of A$6.7. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Capral
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Capral paid out a comfortable 29% of its profit last year. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Luckily it paid out just 5.0% of its free cash flow last year.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see how much of its profit Capral paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Capral, with earnings per share up 3.2% on average over the last five years. Recent earnings growth has been limited. Yet there are several ways to grow the dividend, and one of them is simply that the company may choose to pay out more of its earnings as dividends.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, four years ago, Capral has lifted its dividend by approximately 4.7% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Is Capral worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Capral is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but Capral is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
So while Capral looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Capral you should be aware of.
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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. 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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