Jacobson Pharma's (HKG:2633) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

Jacobson Pharma Corporation Limited (HKG:2633) will increase its dividend on the 29th of December to HK$0.028, which is 133% higher than last year's payment from the same period of HK$0.012. This will take the annual payment to 4.6% of the stock price, which is above what most companies in the industry pay.

See our latest analysis for Jacobson Pharma

Jacobson Pharma's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Jacobson Pharma'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 could expand by 1.9% if recent trends continue. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 49% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Jacobson Pharma's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Even in its relatively short history, the company has reduced the dividend at least once. If the company cuts once, it definitely isn't argument against the possibility of it cutting in the future. Since 2016, the annual payment back then was HK$0.016, compared to the most recent full-year payment of HK$0.0388. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 16% a year over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Unfortunately, Jacobson Pharma's earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year. The company has been growing at a pretty soft 1.9% per annum, and is paying out quite a lot of its earnings to shareholders. This could mean the dividend doesn't have the growth potential we look for going into the future.

In Summary

Overall, this is a reasonable dividend, and it being raised is an added bonus. The payout ratio looks good, but unfortunately the company's dividend track record isn't stellar. Taking all of this into consideration, the dividend looks viable moving forward, but investors should be mindful that the company has pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the past and may do so again.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Jacobson Pharma (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about. Is Jacobson Pharma not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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