Just 4 Days Before Scott Technology Limited (NZSE:SCT) Will Be Trading Ex-Dividend
It looks like Scott Technology Limited (NZSE:SCT) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 14th of November to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 26th of November.
Scott Technology's next dividend payment will be NZ$0.04 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of NZ$0.08 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Scott Technology has a trailing yield of 3.2% on the current share price of NZ$2.49. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether Scott Technology has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Scott Technology
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. Scott Technology is paying out an acceptable 71% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. 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. Scott Technology paid a dividend despite reporting negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. This may be due to heavy investment in the business, but this is still suboptimal from a dividend sustainability perspective.
Click here to see how much of its profit Scott Technology paid out over the last 12 months.
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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Fortunately for readers, Scott Technology's earnings per share have been growing at 13% a year for the past five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last ten years, Scott Technology has lifted its dividend by approximately 16% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
Final Takeaway
Is Scott Technology an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share growth is a positive, and the company's payout ratio looks normal. However, we note Scott Technology paid out a much higher percentage of its free cash flow, which makes us uncomfortable. 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.
Keen to explore more data on Scott Technology's financial performance? Check out our visualisation of its historical revenue and earnings growth.
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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
