Brenntag (ETR:BNR) Is Increasing Its Dividend To €1.45

The board of Brenntag SE (ETR:BNR) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 14th of June to €1.45. This takes the annual payment to 2.1% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Brenntag

Brenntag's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. The last payment was quite easily covered by earnings, but it made up 118% of cash flows. This signals that the company is more focused on returning cash flow to shareholders, but it could mean that the dividend is exposed to cuts in the future.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 56.3%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 34%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Brenntag Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from €0.47 to €1.45. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% 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's Growth Prospects Are Limited

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Earnings has been rising at 4.5% per annum over the last five years, which admittedly is a bit slow. Growth of 4.5% per annum is not particularly high, which might explain why the company is paying out a higher proportion of earnings. This isn't bad in itself, but unless earnings growth pick up we wouldn't expect dividends to grow either.

Our Thoughts On Brenntag's Dividend

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Brenntag's payments are rock solid. While Brenntag is earning enough to cover the payments, the cash flows are lacking. 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. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. To that end, Brenntag has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about. 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.