Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (TSE:FC) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CA$0.078 per share on the 15th of August. This means the annual payment is 8.9% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Before making this announcement, Firm Capital Mortgage Investment's dividend was higher than its profits, but the free cash flows quite comfortably covered it. Given that the dividend is a cash outflow, we think that cash is more important than accounting measures of profit when assessing the dividend, so this is a mitigating factor.

If the company can't turn things around, EPS could fall by 0.02% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 99%, which could put the dividend in jeopardy if the company's earnings don't improve. historic-dividend

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$0.99 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$0.95. The dividend has shrunk at a rate of less than 1% a year over this period. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Unfortunately, Firm Capital Mortgage Investment's earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year.

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We don't think Firm Capital Mortgage Investment is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Firm Capital Mortgage Investment not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out 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.

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