Ashmore Group (LON:ASHM) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of UK£0.12

The board of Ashmore Group PLC (LON:ASHM) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 10th of December, with investors receiving UK£0.12 per share. This means the annual payment is 4.9% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Ashmore Group

Ashmore Group's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. The last dividend was quite comfortably covered by Ashmore Group's earnings, but it was a bit tighter on the cash flow front. The company is clearly earning enough to pay this type of dividend, but it is definitely focused on returning cash to shareholders, rather than growing the business.

EPS is set to fall by 35.1% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 72%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Ashmore Group Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The dividend has gone from UK£0.14 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of UK£0.17. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.5% per annum over that time. Although we can't deny that the dividend has been remarkably stable in the past, the growth has been pretty muted.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. We are encouraged to see that Ashmore Group has grown earnings per share at 14% per year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

In Summary

Overall, we think Ashmore Group is a solid choice as a dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't raised this year. On the plus side, the dividend looks sustainable by most measures but it is let down by the lack of cash flows. This looks like it could be a good dividend stock going forward, but we would note that the payout ratio has been at higher levels in the past so it could happen again.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for Ashmore 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 performing dividend stock.

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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.
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