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Rentokil Initial's (LON:RTO) Dividend Will Be Reduced To UK£0.043

Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO) has announced it will be reducing its dividend payable on the 18th of May to UK£0.043. This payment takes the dividend yield to 1.2%, which only provides a modest boost to overall returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Prior to this announcement, Rentokil Initial's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

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The next year is set to see EPS grow by 11.2%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 43% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

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 UK£0.02 in 2012 to the most recent annual payment of UK£0.086. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 16% per annum over that time. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

We Could See Rentokil Initial's Dividend Growing

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Rentokil Initial has impressed us by growing EPS at 9.1% per year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

We Really Like Rentokil Initial's Dividend

It is generally not great to see the dividend being cut, but we don't think this should happen much if at all in the future given that Rentokil Initial has the makings of a solid income stock moving forward. By reducing the dividend, pressure will be taken off the balance sheet, which could help the dividend to be consistent in the future. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Rentokil Initial that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.