Apetit Oyj (HEL:APETIT) Is Increasing Its Dividend To €0.75

Apetit Oyj (HEL:APETIT) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 23rd of April to €0.75. This will take the annual payment to 5.0% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

See our latest analysis for Apetit Oyj

Apetit Oyj's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. The last payment was quite easily covered by earnings, but it made up 212% of cash flows. The company might be more focused on returning cash to shareholders, but paying out this much of its cash flow could expose the dividend to being cut in the future.

EPS is set to fall by 36.2% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 70%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was €1.00, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €0.75. This works out to be a decline of approximately 2.8% per year over that time. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Apetit Oyj has grown earnings per share at 56% per year over the past five years. Apetit Oyj is clearly able to grow rapidly while still returning cash to shareholders, positioning it to become a strong dividend payer in the future.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

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 identified 3 warning signs for Apetit Oyj (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing. 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.