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Readers hoping to buy City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 10th of October in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 25th of October.
City Office REIT's next dividend payment will be US$0.2 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.9 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that City Office REIT has a trailing yield of 6.7% on the current share price of $14.09. 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! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for City Office REIT
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. It paid out 89% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. It could become a concern if earnings started to decline. While City Office REIT seems to be paying out a very high percentage of its income, REITs have different dividend payment behaviour and so, while we don't think this is great, we also don't think it is unusual. Considering the lack of profitability, we also need to check if the company generated enough cash flow to cover the dividend payment. If cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. Over the last year, it paid out more than three-quarters (89%) of its free cash flow generated, which is fairly high and may be starting to limit reinvestment in the business.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. City Office REIT reported a loss last year, but at least the general trend suggests its income has been improving over the past five years. Even so, an unprofitable company whose business does not quickly recover is usually not a good candidate for dividend investors.