Tripod Technology Passes These Three Dividend Tests

With tens of billions being paid out in dividends on the stock market every year, it’s no surprise that investors are paying close attention to payouts from stocks such as Tripod technology (TPE: 3044).

The yield “boost” of cash payouts is a crucial part of the total return you get from stocks. And in uncertain economic conditions, these payments are more important than ever.

But the challenge for investors is to find the best and most reliable dividends. With so many ways to assess these payments — and so many potential pitfalls — it’s important to focus on the most useful metrics.

To help you find the best possible dividends, there are a few key metrics to remember. Let’s take a look at Tripod Technology’s dividend as an example of what to look for.

1. High (but not excessive) dividend yield

Yield is an important dividend metric because it tells you the percentage of the amount a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its stock price. This makes it easier to compare dividend payouts across the market.

High returns are obviously attractive, but watch out for returns that are too high (usually above 10%) as they can signal trouble. When the market suspects that a company is unable to sustain its dividend, the stock price drops and actually pushes the yield up – and that can be a trap. It is therefore better to be wary of excessive returns.

• Tripod technology has a dividend yield of 5.80%.

2. Dividend Growth

Another important marker for income-oriented investors is a history of dividend growth – and proof that growth will continue. Steady dividend growth may indicate that companies are carefully managing their distribution policies and rewarding their shareholders over time. Rather than aggressively distributing earnings, dividend-growing companies tend to have more modest returns, but are better able to maintain their payouts.

• Tripod Technology has increased its dividend 7 times in the past 10 years – and the dividend per share is is expected to grow by 1.05% over the coming year.

3. Security of dividends

Attractive high yields obviously turn heads – but it’s important to know that a dividend is affordable. Dividend coverage (similar to payout ratio) is a benchmark measure of a company’s net income relative to the dividend paid to shareholders. It is calculated as earnings per share divided by dividend per share and helps indicate how sustainable a dividend is.

Dividend coverage of less than 1x suggests the company cannot fund the payment from its current year earnings – and could rely on other sources of funds to pay it.

• Tripod technology has dividend coverage of 1.58.

What does this mean for potential investors?

Yield, growth and security are the three main pillars that underpin some of the most popular dividend investing strategies. But it is important to know that dividend payments can be reduced or canceled very quickly when the outlook changes.

To better understand the dividend outlook of any stock, it’s important to do some research yourself. Indeed, we have identified areas of concern with tripod technology which you can read about here.