Digia Oyj's (HEL:DIGIA) Dividend Will Be €0.17

Digia Oyj (HEL:DIGIA) has announced that it will pay a dividend of €0.17 per share on the 2nd of April. The dividend yield is 3.2% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

See our latest analysis for Digia Oyj

Digia Oyj's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Digia Oyj's earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 58.5%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 32%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Digia Oyj's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Looking back, Digia Oyj's dividend hasn't been particularly consistent. This suggests that the dividend might not be the most reliable. The annual payment during the last 9 years was €0.05 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was €0.17. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 15% over that duration. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Digia Oyj has grown earnings per share at 16% per year over the past five years. Since earnings per share is growing at an acceptable rate, and the payout policy is balanced, we think the company is positioning itself well to grow earnings and dividends in the future.

We Really Like Digia Oyj's Dividend

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. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. 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. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Digia Oyj that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Digia Oyj not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.