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Dividends play an important role in compounding returns in the long run and end up forming a sizeable part of investment returns. Historically, SEEK Limited (ASX:SEK) has paid a dividend to shareholders. It currently yields 2.7%. Does SEEK tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.
View our latest analysis for SEEK
5 checks you should use to assess a dividend stock
If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:
- Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
- Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
- Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
- Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
- Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?
How does SEEK fare?
SEK currently pays out twice what it is earning, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which suggests that the dividend is not well-covered by earnings by any means. In the near future, analysts are predicting a more sensible payout ratio of 71% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of around 3.1%. Moreover, EPS should increase to A$0.55, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.
If you want to dive deeper into the sustainability of a certain payout ratio, you may wish to consider the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.
If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it’s dividend stocks and their constant income stream. Although SEK’s per share payments have increased in the past 10 years, it has not been a completely smooth ride. Investors have seen reductions in the dividend per share in the past, although, it has picked up again.
Relative to peers, SEEK generates a yield of 2.7%, which is on the low-side for Professional Services stocks.
Next Steps:
Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in SEEK for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three key aspects you should look at:
- Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SEK’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SEK’s outlook.
- Valuation: What is SEK worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SEK is currently mispriced by the market.
- Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. On rare occasion, data errors may occur. Thank you for reading.