Kyocera Corporation (TSE:6971) will pay a dividend of ¥25.00 on the 29th of June. This means the annual payment is 2.3% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.
If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 161% of what it was earning. It will be difficult to sustain this level of payout so we wouldn't be confident about this continuing.
The next 12 months is set to see EPS grow by 23.8%. However, if the dividend continues along recent trends, it could start putting pressure on the balance sheet with the payout ratio reaching 137% over the next year.
View our latest analysis for Kyocera
The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The annual payment during the last 10 years was ¥20.00 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was ¥50.00. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.6% a year over that time. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.
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. Earnings per share has been sinking by 11% over the last five years. This steep decline can indicate that the business is going through a tough time, which could constrain its ability to pay a larger dividend each year in the future. On the bright side, earnings are predicted to gain some ground over the next year, but until this turns into a pattern we wouldn't be feeling too comfortable.
Overall, while some might be pleased that the dividend wasn't cut, we think this may help Kyocera make more consistent payments in the future. The company's earnings aren't high enough to be making such big distributions, and it isn't backed up by strong growth or consistency either. The dividend doesn't inspire confidence that it will provide solid income in the future.
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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Kyocera (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about. Is Kyocera 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.