Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Konami Group Corporation (TSE:9766) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is two business days before a company's record date in most cases, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade can take two business days or more to settle. Thus, you can purchase Konami Group's shares before the 29th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 20th of November.
The company's upcoming dividend is JP¥112.00 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of JP¥224 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Konami Group has a trailing yield of approximately 1.1% on its current stock price of JP¥21270.00. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Konami Group has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Konami Group paid out a comfortable 27% of its profit last year. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 35% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
It's positive to see that Konami Group's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
See our latest analysis for Konami Group
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Konami Group's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 28% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Konami Group has increased its dividend at approximately 27% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
Has Konami Group got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Konami Group has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. Konami Group looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
While it's tempting to invest in Konami Group for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Konami Group you should be aware of.
Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are 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.