Avex Inc. (TSE:7860) will pay a dividend of ¥25.00 on the 9th of June. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 3.5%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.
View our latest analysis for Avex
While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Based on the last payment, earnings were actually smaller than the dividend, and the company was actually spending more cash than it was making. Paying out such a large dividend compared to earnings while also not generating any free cash flow would definitely be difficult to keep up.
Looking forward, EPS could fall by 0.2% if the company can't turn things around from the last few years. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 1,352%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.
While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of ¥60.00 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥50.00. The dividend has shrunk at around 1.8% a year during that period. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.
Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Avex hasn't seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years.
Overall, this isn't a great candidate as an income investment, even though the dividend was stable this year. The company seems to be stretching itself a bit to make such big payments, but it doesn't appear they can be consistent over time. Overall, this doesn't get us very excited from an income standpoint.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. To that end, Avex has 3 warning signs (and 2 which don't sit too well with us) we think you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.