Rosenbauer International's (VIE:ROS) Shareholders Will Receive A Smaller Dividend Than Last Year

Rosenbauer International AG (VIE:ROS) has announced it will be reducing its dividend payable on the 24th of May to €0.90. The dividend yield will be in the average range for the industry at 2.4%.

View our latest analysis for Rosenbauer International

Rosenbauer International's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, Rosenbauer International's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 56.6%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 45%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the first annual payment was €1.20, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €0.90. This works out to be a decline of approximately 2.8% per year over that time. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

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 Rosenbauer International has grown earnings per share at 10% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

Rosenbauer International Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In general, we don't like to see the dividend being cut, especially when the company has such high potential like Rosenbauer International does. The cut will allow the company to continue paying out the dividend without putting the balance sheet under pressure, which means that it could remain sustainable for longer. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Rosenbauer International that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. 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.