Yahoo Finance Sage Group's (LON:SGE) Dividend Will Be Increased To £0.0655
The board of The Sage Group plc (LON:SGE) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of £0.0655 on the 23rd of June, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 2.2% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.
See our latest analysis for Sage Group
Sage Group's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Prior to this announcement, Sage Group's dividend made up quite a large proportion of earnings but only 69% of free cash flows. Since the dividend is just paying out cash to shareholders, we care more about the cash payout ratio from which we can see plenty is being left over for reinvestment in the business.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 83.3%. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 53% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.
Sage Group Has A Solid Track Record
The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The annual payment during the last 10 years was £0.107 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was £0.187. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.7% a year over that time. Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate over this period, and without any major cuts in the payment over time, we think this is an attractive combination as it provides a nice boost to shareholder returns.
Sage Group May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Sage Group has seen earnings per share falling at 2.9% per year over the last five years. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this can turn into a longer term trend.
In Summary
Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The company has been bring in plenty of cash to cover the dividend, but we don't necessarily think that makes it a great dividend stock. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Sage Group that investors should take into consideration. Is Sage Group not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.
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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.
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