Is Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (ETR:PBB) A Good Fit For Your Dividend Portfolio?

Today we'll take a closer look at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (ETR:PBB) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.

Investors might not know much about Deutsche Pfandbriefbank's dividend prospects, even though it has been paying dividends for the last five years and offers a 2.9% yield. A low yield is generally a turn-off, but if the prospects for earnings growth were strong, investors might be pleasantly surprised by the long-term results. The company also returned around 1.4% of its market capitalisation to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks over the past year. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Deutsche Pfandbriefbank for its dividend, and we'll go through these below.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Deutsche Pfandbriefbank!

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank paid out 191% of its profit as dividends. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, from the perspective of an investor who hopes to own the company for many years, a payout ratio of above 100% is definitely a concern.

Consider getting our latest analysis on Deutsche Pfandbriefbank's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Looking at the data, we can see that Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has been paying a dividend for the past five years. During the past five-year period, the first annual payment was €0.4 in 2016, compared to €0.3 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around 9.6% a year during that period. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank's dividend hasn't shrunk linearly at 9.6% per annum, but the CAGR is a useful estimate of the historical rate of change.

When a company's per-share dividend falls we question if this reflects poorly on either external business conditions, or the company's capital allocation decisions. Either way, we find it hard to get excited about a company with a declining dividend.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS are growing. Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has grown its earnings per share at 14% per annum over the past five years. With a payout ratio of 191%, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank is paying out substantially more than it earned in dividends. This is a risky practice.

Conclusion

Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. We're a bit uncomfortable with its high payout ratio. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank might not be a bad business, but it doesn't show all of the characteristics we look for in a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. 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 picked out 2 warning signs for Deutsche Pfandbriefbank 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 dividend stocks yielding above 3%.

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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. 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.
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