United Internet (ETR:UTDI) Will Pay A Dividend Of €0.50

United Internet AG (ETR:UTDI) will pay a dividend of €0.50 on the 24th of May. This payment means the dividend yield will be 1.6%, which is below the average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for United Internet

United Internet's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. Before making this announcement, United Internet was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 2.6%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 20%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from €0.30 in 2012 to the most recent annual payment of €0.50. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.2% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's encouraging to see United Internet has been growing its earnings per share at 21% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

United Internet Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for United Internet 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.