Fujicco Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:2908) investors are due to receive a payment of ¥23.00 per share on 2nd of June. This means the annual payment is 2.9% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before this announcement, Fujicco was paying out 98% of what it was earning, and not generating any free cash flows either. This high of a dividend payment could start to put pressure on the balance sheet in the future.
If the company can't turn things around, EPS could fall by 15.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could reach 122%, which could put the dividend under pressure if earnings don't start to improve.
See our latest analysis for Fujicco
The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. Since 2016, the annual payment back then was ¥32.00, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ¥46.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.7% over that duration. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.
Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. However, initial appearances might be deceiving. Earnings per share has been sinking by 16% over the last five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.
Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. We don't think Fujicco is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.
Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 Fujicco (of which 2 can't be ignored!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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.