ORIX Corporation (TSE:8591) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥59.91 per share on the 4th of June. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 2.8%.
Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, ORIX was paying a whopping 6,254% as a dividend, but this only made up 39% of its overall earnings. A cash payout ratio this high could put the dividend under pressure and force the company to reduce it in the future if it were to run into tough times.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 7.4%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 40% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
View our latest analysis for ORIX
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 an annual total of ¥33.00 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥120.01. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 14% over that duration. 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.
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. ORIX has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 16% per annum. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.
In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think ORIX'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.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for ORIX that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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