The board of Kanamoto Co.,Ltd. (TSE:9678) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 27th of January, with investors receiving ¥40.00 per share. This means the dividend yield will be fairly typical at 2.5%.
View our latest analysis for KanamotoLtd
While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, KanamotoLtd's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 10.7%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 34% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was ¥20.00, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ¥75.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 14% over that duration. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. In the last five years, KanamotoLtd's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 6.9% per annum. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. Earnings are predicted to grow over the next year, but we would remain cautious until a track record of earnings growth is established.
In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about KanamotoLtd's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. In the past, the payments have been unstable, but over the short term the dividend could be reliable, with the company generating enough cash to cover it. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for KanamotoLtd 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.
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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.