Julius Bär Gruppe (VTX:BAER) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

The board of Julius Bär Gruppe AG (VTX:BAER) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 20th of April to CHF2.60. This will take the annual payment from 5.1% to 5.1% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

See our latest analysis for Julius Bär Gruppe

Julius Bär Gruppe's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Julius Bär Gruppe's earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 1.7% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 56%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

Julius Bär Gruppe Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from CHF0.60 to CHF2.60. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 16% over that duration. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Julius Bär Gruppe has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 13% per annum. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

We Really Like Julius Bär Gruppe's Dividend

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. 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. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Julius Bär Gruppe that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Is Julius Bär Gruppe not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.