Yahoo Finance Stratec (ETR:SBS) Is Increasing Its Dividend To €0.97
The board of Stratec SE (ETR:SBS) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend by 2.1% on the 22nd of May to €0.97, up from last year's comparable payment of €0.95. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 1.5%.
View our latest analysis for Stratec
Stratec'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, Stratec's earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. Since a dividend means the company is paying out cash to investors, this could prove to be a problem in the future.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 46.0%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 29%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.
Stratec Has A Solid Track Record
The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was €0.55, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €0.95. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 5.6% per annum over that time. Companies like this can be very valuable over the long term, if the decent rate of growth can be maintained.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve
Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. However, Stratec's EPS was effectively flat over the past five years, which could stop the company from paying more every year. Growth of 1.5% may indicate that the company has limited investment opportunity so it is returning its earnings to shareholders instead. This isn't bad in itself, but unless earnings growth pick up we wouldn't expect dividends to grow either.
Our Thoughts On Stratec's Dividend
In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Stratec's payments are rock solid. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 6 Stratec analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company. 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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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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