Sagar Cements (NSE:SAGCEM) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of ₹0.70

The board of Sagar Cements Limited (NSE:SAGCEM) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 26th of July, with investors receiving ₹0.70 per share. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 0.3%, which is a modest boost for shareholders' returns.

View our latest analysis for Sagar Cements

Sagar Cements' Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. While Sagar Cements is not profitable, it is paying out less than 75% of its free cash flow, which means that there is plenty left over for reinvestment into the business. In general, cash flows are more important than the more traditional measures of profit so we feel pretty comfortable with the dividend at this level.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise exponentially over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio will be 1.5%, which makes us pretty comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from ₹0.20 total annually to ₹0.70. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 13% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Over the past five years, it looks as though Sagar Cements' EPS has declined at around 24% a year. This steep decline can indicate that the business is going through a tough time, which could constrain its ability to pay a larger dividend each year in the future. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this becomes a long term trend.

Sagar Cements' Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Sagar Cements (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about. Is Sagar Cements not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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