Fielmann Group's (ETR:FIE) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Fielmann Group AG (ETR:FIE) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 16th of July to €1.00. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 2.2%.

Check out our latest analysis for Fielmann Group

Fielmann Group's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Prior to this announcement, Fielmann Group's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 46.8% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 42% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was €1.45 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was €1.00. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 3.6% per year. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

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. It's not great to see that Fielmann Group's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 5.3% per year over the past five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for Fielmann Group that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. 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.