Yahoo Finance Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) Will Pay A US$0.21 Dividend In 2 Days
It looks like Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 2 days. Investors can purchase shares before the 31st of January in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of February.
Matthews International's upcoming dividend is US$0.21 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.84 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Matthews International has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current share price of $38.45. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Matthews International's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Matthews International has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Matthews International
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. Matthews International lost money last year, so the fact that it's paying a dividend is certainly disconcerting. There might be a good reason for this, but we'd want to look into it further before getting comfortable. With the recent loss, it's important to check if the business generated enough cash to pay its dividend. If Matthews International didn't generate enough cash to pay the dividend, then it must have either paid from cash in the bank or by borrowing money, neither of which is sustainable in the long term. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 27% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Matthews International was unprofitable last year, but at least the general trend suggests its earnings have been improving over the past five years. Even so, an unprofitable company whose business does not quickly recover is usually not a good candidate for dividend investors.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, ten years ago, Matthews International has lifted its dividend by approximately 12% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
Get our latest analysis on Matthews International's balance sheet health here.
To Sum It Up
Is Matthews International an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's hard to get used to Matthews International paying a dividend despite reporting a loss over the past year. At least the dividend was covered by free cash flow, however. It might be worth researching if the company is reinvesting in growth projects that could grow earnings and dividends in the future, but for now we're not all that optimistic on its dividend prospects.
Curious what other investors think of Matthews International? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.
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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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