Zooming in on ASX:BPT's 1.3% Dividend Yield

Dividends play a key role in compounding returns over time and can form a large part of our portfolio return. Historically, Beach Energy Limited (ASX:BPT) has been paying a dividend to shareholders. Today it yields 1.3%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Let's take a look at Beach Energy in more detail.

Check out our latest analysis for Beach Energy

How I analyze a dividend stock

When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:

• Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?
• Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
• Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past?
• Is its earnings sufficient to payout dividend at the current rate?
• Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

Does Beach Energy pass our checks?

The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 22%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. However, going forward, analysts expect BPT's payout to fall to 14% of its earnings, which leads to a dividend yield of 1.8%. However, EPS should increase to A$0.20, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.

When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot.

If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it's dividend stocks and their constant income stream. Dividend payments from Beach Energy have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends.

In terms of its peers, Beach Energy generates a yield of 1.3%, which is on the low-side for Oil and Gas stocks.

Next Steps:

After digging a little deeper into Beach Energy's yield, it's easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. On the other hand, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still be offering some interesting investment opportunities. 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. Below, I've compiled three essential aspects you should further examine:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BPT’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BPT’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is BPT 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 BPT is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.