The board of Repsol, S.A. (BME:REP) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 8th of July, with investors receiving €0.405 per share. This makes the dividend yield 8.2%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.
Repsol's Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings
If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 105% of what it was earning. It will be difficult to sustain this level of payout so we wouldn't be confident about this continuing.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 167.9%. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 31% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.
See our latest analysis for Repsol
Dividend Volatility
The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from €0.977 total annually to €0.975. The dividend has shrunk at a rate of less than 1% a year over this period. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.
Dividend Growth Could Be Constrained
Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Repsol has impressed us by growing EPS at 51% per year over the past five years. While EPS is growing rapidly, Repsol paid out a very high 105% of its income as dividends. If earnings continue to grow, this dividend may be sustainable, but we think a payout this high definitely bears watching.
The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable
Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. Strong earnings growth means Repsol has the potential to be a good dividend stock in the future, despite the current payments being at elevated levels. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Repsol (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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.