CK Hutchison Holdings (HKG:1) Has Announced That It Will Be Increasing Its Dividend To HK$2.09

The board of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (HKG:1) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of HK$2.09 on the 8th of June, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 6.0% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for CK Hutchison Holdings

CK Hutchison Holdings' Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, prior to this announcement, CK Hutchison Holdings' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 3.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 30%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was HK$3.16, compared to the most recent full-year payment of HK$2.93. The dividend has shrunk at a rate of less than 1% a year over this period. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.

CK Hutchison Holdings 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. CK Hutchison Holdings hasn't seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years. Earnings growth is slow, but on the plus side, the dividend payout ratio is low and dividends could grow faster than earnings, if the company decides to increase its payout ratio.

Our Thoughts On CK Hutchison Holdings' Dividend

Overall, it's great to see the dividend being raised and that it is still in a sustainable range. The dividend has been at reasonable levels historically, but that hasn't translated into a consistent payment. The dividend looks okay, but there have been some issues in the past, so we would be a little bit cautious.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for CK Hutchison Holdings 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.