Yahoo Finance Here's What We Like About Australian Vintage's (ASX:AVG) Upcoming Dividend
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Australian Vintage Ltd (ASX:AVG) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. 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 important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Australian Vintage's shares before the 5th of July in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of July.
The upcoming dividend for Australian Vintage will put a total of AU$0.085 per share in shareholders' pockets, up from last year's total dividends of AU$0.027. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for Australian Vintage
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. Fortunately Australian Vintage's payout ratio is modest, at just 41% of profit. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Australian Vintage generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 19% of its cash flow last 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 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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Australian Vintage's earnings per share have been growing at 10% a year for the past five years. The company has managed to grow earnings at a rapid rate, while reinvesting most of the profits within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Australian Vintage has increased its dividend at approximately 0.8% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Australian Vintage is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.
To Sum It Up
Is Australian Vintage worth buying for its dividend? It's great that Australian Vintage is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. There's a lot to like about Australian Vintage, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks Australian Vintage is facing. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Australian Vintage and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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