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Readers hoping to buy ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. This means that investors who purchase ARC Resources' shares on or after the 30th of December will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of January.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.10 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.40 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, ARC Resources has a trailing yield of approximately 2.5% on its current stock price of CA$11.46. 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 investigate whether ARC Resources can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
View our latest analysis for ARC Resources
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. ARC Resources paid out more than half (58%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether ARC Resources generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out 13% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
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 ARC Resources paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. ARC Resources's earnings per share have plummeted approximately 42% a year over the previous five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. ARC Resources's dividend payments per share have declined at 13% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.