Yahoo Finance Should You Buy Richards Packaging Income Fund (TSE:RPI.UN) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
Richards Packaging Income Fund (TSE:RPI.UN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. In other words, investors can purchase Richards Packaging Income Fund's shares before the 28th of January in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of February.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.11 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$1.32 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Richards Packaging Income Fund has a trailing yield of 2.4% on the current share price of CA$56.15. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Richards Packaging Income Fund
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. That's why it's good to see Richards Packaging Income Fund paying out a modest 35% of its earnings. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 30% of its free cash flow in the past year.
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 Richards Packaging Income Fund paid out over the last 12 months.
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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see Richards Packaging Income Fund has grown its earnings rapidly, up 32% a year for the past five years. Richards Packaging Income Fund is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Richards Packaging Income Fund has delivered 5.3% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
To Sum It Up
Should investors buy Richards Packaging Income Fund for the upcoming dividend? We love that Richards Packaging Income Fund is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Richards Packaging Income Fund looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks Richards Packaging Income Fund is facing. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Richards Packaging Income Fund and you should be aware of it before buying any 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.
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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.
