The board of Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited (HKG:6868) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CN¥0.08 per share on the 28th of May. This payment takes the dividend yield to 3.1%, which only provides a modest boost to overall returns.

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Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings' Projections Indicate Future Payments May Be Unsustainable

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Before this announcement, Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings was paying out 76% of earnings, but a comparatively small 35% of free cash flows. In general, cash flows are more important than earnings, so we are comfortable that the dividend will be sustainable going forward, especially with so much cash left over for reinvestment.

EPS is set to fall by 11.5% over the next 12 months if recent trends continue. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 100%, which could put the dividend in jeopardy if the company's earnings don't improve.

See our latest analysis for Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of CN¥0.156 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of CN¥0.097. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 4.6% per year. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Over the past five years, it looks as though Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings' EPS has declined at around 12% a year. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

In Summary

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. 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.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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