Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's (NYSE:CRT) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

The board of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 14th of June to US$0.16. This takes the dividend yield from 7.1% to 7.6%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

See our latest analysis for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Based on the last payment, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust's profits didn't cover the dividend, but the company was generating enough cash instead. 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.

Over the next year, EPS could expand by 5.6% if the company continues along the path it has been on recently. If the dividend continues on its recent course, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 98%, which is a bit high and could start applying pressure to the balance sheet.

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. Since 2012, the first annual payment was US$3.83, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$1.28. This works out to a decline of approximately 67% over that time. 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

Given that dividend payments have been shrinking like a glacier in a warming world, we need to check if there are some bright spots on the horizon. It's encouraging to see Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has been growing its earnings per share at 5.6% a year over the past five years. While EPS is growing at a decent rate, but future growth could be limited by the amount of earnings being paid out to shareholders.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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