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Why You Should Leave Mainova AG's (FRA:MNV6) Upcoming Dividend On The Shelf

Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Mainova AG (FRA:MNV6) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 28th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 28th of May.

Mainova's next dividend payment will be €10.84 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of €11.89 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Mainova stock has a trailing yield of around 2.5% on the current share price of €472. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Mainova

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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. Mainova paid out 142% of profit in the past year, which we think is typically not sustainable unless there are mitigating characteristics such as unusually strong cash flow or a large cash balance. 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. It distributed 42% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.

It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Mainova fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. If executives were to continue paying more in dividends than the company reported in profits, we'd view this as a warning sign. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.

Click here to see how much of its profit Mainova paid out over the last 12 months.

DB:MNV6 Historical Dividend Yield May 24th 2020
DB:MNV6 Historical Dividend Yield May 24th 2020

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Mainova's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 18% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, ten years ago, Mainova has lifted its dividend by approximately 2.3% a year on average. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. Mainova is already paying out a high percentage of its income, so without earnings growth, we're doubtful of whether this dividend will grow much in the future.

Final Takeaway

Has Mainova got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's never great to see earnings per share declining, especially when a company is paying out 142% of its profit as dividends, which we feel is uncomfortably high. Yet cashflow was much stronger, which makes us wonder if there are some large timing issues in Mainova's cash flows, or perhaps the company has written down some assets aggressively, reducing its income. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Mainova. We've identified 4 warning signs with Mainova (at least 2 which don't sit too well with us), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top 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.