Endesa (BME:ELE) Will Pay A Smaller Dividend Than Last Year

Endesa, S.A. (BME:ELE) is reducing its dividend to €0.76 on the 1st of July. However, the dividend yield of 5.8% is still a decent boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Endesa

Endesa's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Before this announcement, Endesa was paying out 119% of what it was earning, and not generating any free cash flows either. Paying out such a large dividend compared to earnings while also not generating free cash flows is a major warning sign for the sustainability of the dividend as these levels are certainly a bit high.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 38.2%. If the dividend continues growing along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 76%, which is on the higher side, but certainly still feasible.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the first annual payment was €1.11, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €1.44. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 2.7% per annum over that time. It's encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

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. Unfortunately, Endesa's earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year.

Endesa's Dividend Doesn't Look Great

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. The company seems to be stretching itself a bit to make such big payments, but it doesn't appear they can be consistent over time. Considering all of these factors, we wouldn't rely on this dividend if we wanted to live on the income.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, Endesa has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are potentially serious) 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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