Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) Will Pay A Dividend Of $0.06

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.06 per share on the 11th of June. The dividend yield will be 3.5% based on this payment which is still above the industry average.

Nu Skin Enterprises' Distributions May Be Difficult To Sustain

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Even though Nu Skin Enterprises isn't generating a profit, it is generating healthy free cash flows that easily cover the dividend. This gives us some comfort about the level of the dividend payments.

EPS has fallen by an average of 53.2% in the past, so this could continue over the next year. While this means that the company will be unprofitable, we generally believe cash flows are more important, and the current cash payout ratio is quite healthy, which gives us comfort.

See our latest analysis for Nu Skin Enterprises

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $1.38 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.24. This works out to a decline of approximately 83% 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.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Dividends have been going in the wrong direction, so we definitely want to see a different trend in the earnings per share. Earnings per share has been sinking by 53% over the last five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Nu Skin Enterprises' Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Nu Skin Enterprises (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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