Don't Race Out To Buy Morneau Shepell Inc. (TSE:MSI) Just Because It's Going Ex-Dividend

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Morneau Shepell Inc. (TSE:MSI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 30th of January to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of February.

Morneau Shepell's next dividend payment will be CA$0.065 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.78 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Morneau Shepell has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current stock price of CA$35.06. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Morneau Shepell

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Last year, Morneau Shepell paid out 260% of its profit to shareholders in the form of dividends. This is not sustainable behaviour and requires a closer look on behalf of the purchaser. 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. Over the past year it paid out 122% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.

Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given Morneau Shepell's payments were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we are concerned about the sustainability of this dividend.

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 decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Morneau Shepell, with earnings per share up 6.9% on average over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing comfortably, although unfortunately the company is paying out more of its profits than we're comfortable with over the long term.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Morneau Shepell has seen its dividend decline 1.9% per annum on average over the past ten years, which is not great to see.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Morneau Shepell? Morneau Shepell is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of both earnings and cash flow as dividends, although at least earnings per share are growing somewhat. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

Curious what other investors think of Morneau Shepell? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.