Here's What We Like About Oi Electric's (TSE:6822) Upcoming Dividend

Oi Electric Co., Ltd. (TSE:6822) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is commonly two business days before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. This means that investors who purchase Oi Electric's shares on or after the 29th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 8th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be JP¥20.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of JP¥100.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Oi Electric has a trailing yield of 2.0% on the current stock price of JP¥4990.00. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Oi Electric's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

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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. Oi Electric has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 8.7% 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. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 4.1% 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.

See our latest analysis for Oi Electric

Click here to see how much of its profit Oi Electric 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. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Oi Electric's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 49% per annum for the past five years. Oi Electric looks like a real growth company, with earnings per share growing at a cracking pace and the company reinvesting most of its profits in the business.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Oi Electric has increased its dividend at approximately 3.6% a year on average. 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.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Oi Electric? Oi Electric 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. Oi Electric looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

So while Oi Electric looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. For example, we've found 3 warning signs for Oi Electric that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.

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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.