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It looks like Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (TSE:AQN) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 27th of September, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 15th of October.
Algonquin Power & Utilities's next dividend payment will be CA$0.1 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$0.6 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Algonquin Power & Utilities stock has a trailing yield of around 4.1% on the current share price of CA$18.05. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for Algonquin Power & Utilities
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 85% 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. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Algonquin Power & Utilities generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Algonquin Power & Utilities paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 162%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.
Algonquin Power & Utilities paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Algonquin Power & Utilities to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's encouraging to see Algonquin Power & Utilities has grown its earnings rapidly, up 24% a year for the past five years. Earnings have been growing quickly, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.