PZ Cussons (LON:PZC) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of £0.0373

PZ Cussons plc (LON:PZC) has announced that it will pay a dividend of £0.0373 per share on the 30th of November. This makes the dividend yield 4.6%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for PZ Cussons

PZ Cussons' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. The last payment made up 74% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. This leaves plenty of cash for reinvestment into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 47.3% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 49%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of £0.0684 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of £0.064. Dividend payments have shrunk at a rate of less than 1% per annum over this time frame. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

PZ Cussons May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

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. In the last five years, PZ Cussons' earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.0% per annum. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.

Our Thoughts On PZ Cussons' Dividend

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

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. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for PZ Cussons 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.