Marico (NSE:MARICO) Is Increasing Its Dividend To ₹6.50

Marico Limited's (NSE:MARICO) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to ₹6.50 on 28th of March. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 1.1%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Marico

Marico's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, Marico was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 33.6%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 73% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

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 ₹0.50 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of ₹6.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 28% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Marico has impressed us by growing EPS at 10% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.

We Really Like Marico's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

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. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Marico that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Marico not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.