NV Bekaert (EBR:BEKB) Is Increasing Its Dividend To €1.05

NV Bekaert SA's (EBR:BEKB) dividend will be increasing to €1.05 on 16th of May. Even though the dividend went up, the yield is still quite low at only 3.0%.

View our latest analysis for NV Bekaert

NV Bekaert's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. However, prior to this announcement, NV Bekaert's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 28.5% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 20%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from €1.17 in 2012 to the most recent annual payment of €1.50. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 2.5% over that duration. The dividend has seen some fluctuations in the past, so even though the dividend was raised this year, we should remember that it has been cut in the past.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's encouraging to see NV Bekaert has been growing its earnings per share at 31% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

We Really Like NV Bekaert's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 identified 3 warning signs for NV Bekaert (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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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.