Income Investors Should Know That International Housewares Retail Company Limited (HKG:1373) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
International Housewares Retail Company Limited (HKG:1373) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four 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 of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade can take two business days or more to settle. Thus, you can purchase International Housewares Retail's shares before the 5th of January in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 4th of February.
The company's upcoming dividend is HK$0.03 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of HK$0.045 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, International Housewares Retail has a trailing yield of 6.0% on the current stock price of HK$0.75. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 76% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. It could become a concern if earnings started to decline. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. The good news is it paid out just 19% 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.
Check out our latest analysis for International Housewares Retail
Click here to see how much of its profit International Housewares Retail paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. International Housewares Retail's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 22% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. International Housewares Retail's dividend payments per share have declined at 7.5% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.
To Sum It Up
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid International Housewares Retail? The payout ratios are within a reasonable range, implying the dividend may be sustainable. Declining earnings are a serious concern, however, and could pose a threat to the dividend in future. Overall we're not hugely bearish on the stock, but there are likely better dividend investments out there.
If you want to look further into International Housewares Retail, it's worth knowing the risks this business faces. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with International Housewares Retail (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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.