Is It Worth Considering Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 13th of March, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 6th of April.
Ark Restaurants's next dividend payment will be US$0.25 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.00 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ark Restaurants has a trailing yield of 5.3% on the current share price of $18.853. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Ark Restaurants has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Ark Restaurants
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Its dividend payout ratio is 82% of profit, which means the company is paying out a majority of its earnings. The relatively limited profit reinvestment could slow the rate of future earnings growth. We'd be worried about the risk of a drop in earnings. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Ark Restaurants generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 31% of its free cash flow in the past year.
It's positive to see that Ark Restaurants's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
Click here to see how much of its profit Ark Restaurants paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. So we're not too excited that Ark Restaurants's earnings are down 3.9% a year over the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. It looks like the Ark Restaurants dividends are largely the same as they were ten years ago. When earnings are declining yet the dividends are flat, typically the company is either paying out a higher portion of its earnings, or paying out of cash or debt on the balance sheet, neither of which is ideal.
To Sum It Up
Is Ark Restaurants worth buying for its dividend? We're not enthused by the declining earnings per share, although at least the company's payout ratio is within a reasonable range, meaning it may not be at imminent risk of a dividend cut. It might be worth researching if the company is reinvesting in growth projects that could grow earnings and dividends in the future, but for now we're not all that optimistic on its dividend prospects.
If you want to look further into Ark Restaurants, it's worth knowing the risks this business faces. For example, we've found 4 warning signs for Ark Restaurants (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before investing in the shares.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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.
