The board of Bridgestone Corporation (TSE:5108) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 26th of March, with investors receiving ¥115.00 per share. This takes the annual payment to 3.2% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Based on the last payment, Bridgestone was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that a large portion of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 22.8%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 54% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
View our latest analysis for Bridgestone
The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from ¥120.00 total annually to ¥230.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 6.7% over that duration. It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Bridgestone might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.
Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. It's encouraging to see that Bridgestone has been growing its earnings per share at 33% a year over the past five years. Bridgestone is clearly able to grow rapidly while still returning cash to shareholders, positioning it to become a strong dividend payer in the future.
Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Bridgestone is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
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. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Bridgestone that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Bridgestone 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.