T
he board of Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (CVE:MAR.UN) has announced a dividend payment on September 15th, with investors receiving CA$0.0014 per share. This translates to a 2.4% dividend yield, above the industry average. However, it's essential to consider whether this payout can be sustained in the long term.

    Fortunately, prior to this announcement, Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings, indicating that most of its earnings are being reinvested for growth. Looking ahead, EPS could fall by 18.7% if the company fails to turn things around from recent years.

    Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate a payout ratio of 2.6%, which seems feasible on an earnings basis. While the dividend hasn't seen significant cuts in the past, it's worth noting that the company has only been paying dividends for four years, and its EPS has declined by around 19% annually over the last three years.

    Despite this, investors have received consistent dividend income, and with cash flows covering the payout, it could prove reliable in the short term. However, we remain cautious about the long-term sustainability of the current payment level due to limited growth potential and a history of declining earnings per share.