Pennon Group's (LON:PNN) Dividend Will Be Increased To UK£0.12

Pennon Group Plc (LON:PNN) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 5th of April to UK£0.12. This makes the dividend yield 35%, which is above the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Pennon Group

Pennon Group Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, the company's dividend was much higher than its earnings. This situation certainly isn't ideal, and could place significant strain on the balance sheet if it continues.

Earnings per share is forecast to rise exponentially over the next year. If recent patterns in the dividend continues, we would start to get a bit worried, with the payout ratio possibly reaching 652%.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least 1 cut in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the first annual payment was UK£0.37, compared to the most recent full-year payment of UK£0.27. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 3.2% per year. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Pennon Group's EPS has fallen by approximately 26% per year during the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

We're Not Big Fans Of Pennon Group's Dividend

In conclusion, we have some concerns about this dividend, even though it being raised is good. The company's earnings aren't high enough to be making such big distributions, and it isn't backed up by strong growth or consistency either. Overall, the dividend is not reliable enough to make this a good income stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Pennon Group (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing. 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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