Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see JM Holdings Co.,Ltd. (TSE:3539) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be two business days 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. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. This means that investors who purchase JM HoldingsLtd's shares on or after the 30th of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of October.
The company's next dividend payment will be JP¥12.00 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed JP¥24.00 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, JM HoldingsLtd has a trailing yield of approximately 1.8% on its current stock price of JP¥1350.00. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
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. JM HoldingsLtd has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 20% of its income after tax. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The good news is it paid out just 13% of its free cash flow in the 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.
View our latest analysis for JM HoldingsLtd
Click here to see how much of its profit JM HoldingsLtd paid out over the last 12 months.
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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Fortunately for readers, JM HoldingsLtd's earnings per share have been growing at 11% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings 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. JM HoldingsLtd has delivered 17% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
Should investors buy JM HoldingsLtd for the upcoming dividend? JM HoldingsLtd has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.
Want to learn more about JM HoldingsLtd? Here's a visualisation of its historical rate of revenue and earnings growth.
A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.
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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.