Melexis (EBR:MELE) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of €0.91

The board of Melexis NV (EBR:MELE) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 20th of October, with investors receiving €0.91 per share. This means the annual payment is 3.3% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Melexis

Melexis' Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. But before making this announcement, Melexis' earnings quite easily covered the dividend. The business is returning a large chunk of its cash to shareholders, which means it is not being used to grow the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 26.9%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 35% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the annual payment back then was €0.60, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €2.60. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 16% a year over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

Melexis Could Grow Its Dividend

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Melexis has impressed us by growing EPS at 9.3% per year over the past five years. Melexis definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

Our Thoughts On Melexis' Dividend

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. The company hasn't been paying a very consistent dividend over time, despite only paying out a small portion of earnings. 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 picked out 2 warning signs for Melexis that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. 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.