Bob Evans Farms' Dividend X-Ray

Not all dividends are created equal. Here, we'll do a top-to-bottom analysis of a given company to understand the quality of its dividend and how that's changed over the past five years.

The company we're looking at today is Bob Evans Farms (Nasdaq: BOBE), which yields 2.6%.

Dividend
To evaluate the quality of a dividend, the first thing to consider is whether the company has paid a dividend consistently over the past five years, and, if so, how much has it grown.

BOBE Dividend data by YCharts

Bob Evans Farms has raised its dividend every year for the past five to where it now sits at $0.25 per quarter.

Immediate safety
To understand how safe a dividend is, we use three crucial tools, the first of which is:

• The interest coverage ratio, or the number of times interest is earned, which is calculated by earnings before interest and taxes, divided by interest expense. The interest coverage ratio measures a company's ability to pay the interest on its debt. A ratio less than 1.5 is questionable; a number less than 1 means the company is not bringing in enough money to cover its interest expenses.

BOBE Times Interest Earned TTM data by YCharts

At 12.3, Bob Evans Farms covers every $1 in interest expense with more than $12 in operating earnings.

Sustainability
The other tools we use to evaluate the safety of a dividend are:

• The EPS payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by earnings per share. The EPS payout ratio measures the percentage of earnings that go toward paying the dividend. A ratio greater than 80% is worrisome.
• The FCF payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by free cash flow per share. Earnings alone don't always paint a complete picture of a business's health. The FCF payout ratio measures the percent of free cash flow devoted toward paying the dividend. Again, a ratio greater than 80% could be a red flag.

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

While Bob Evans Farms' payout ratios got screwy with the financial crisis, they have now settled at a low level around 40%.

Another tool for better investing
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies. That's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock-tracking service.

• Add Bob Evans Farms to My Watchlist.

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