Why It Might Not Make Sense To Buy Hengan International Group Company Limited (HKG:1044) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Readers hoping to buy Hengan International Group Company Limited (HKG:1044) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. If you purchase the stock on or after the 25th of May, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 5th of June.

Hengan International Group's next dividend payment will be HK$1.37 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed HK$2.25 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Hengan International Group stock has a trailing yield of around 3.7% on the current share price of HK$66.55. 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.

View our latest analysis for Hengan International Group

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Hengan International Group is paying out an acceptable 69% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. 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. It paid out 104% of its free cash flow in the form of dividends last year, which is outside the comfort zone for most businesses. Cash flows are usually much more volatile than earnings, so this could be a temporary effect - but we'd generally want look more closely here.

Hengan International Group paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Hengan International Group to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

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. This is why it's a relief to see Hengan International Group earnings per share are up 5.2% per annum over the last five years. Earnings have been growing at a steady rate, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past ten years, Hengan International Group has increased its dividend at approximately 9.9% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Hengan International Group? Earnings per share have grown somewhat, although Hengan International Group paid out over half its profits and the dividend was not well covered by free cash flow. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Hengan International Group don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Hengan International Group and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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. 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. Thank you for reading.