Today we'll take a closer look at Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A. (BIT:BPSO) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.
A high yield and a long history of paying dividends is an appealing combination for Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. Remember that the recent share price drop will make Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A's yield look higher, even though recent events might have impacted the company's prospects. Before you buy any stock for its dividend however, you should always remember Warren Buffett's two rules: 1) Don't lose money, and 2) Remember rule #1. We'll run through some checks below to help with this.
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Payout ratios
Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Looking at the data, we can see that 16% of Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. We'd say its dividends are thoroughly covered by earnings.
Consider getting our latest analysis on Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A's financial position here.
Dividend Volatility
One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. Its dividend payments have declined on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was €0.30 in 2010, compared to €0.05 last year. The dividend has fallen 83% over that period.
When a company's per-share dividend falls we question if this reflects poorly on either external business conditions, or the company's capital allocation decisions. Either way, we find it hard to get excited about a company with a declining dividend.
Dividend Growth Potential
With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS are growing. Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A's EPS are effectively flat over the past five years. Over the long term, steady earnings per share is a risk as the value of the dividends can be reduced by inflation. So, we know earnings growth has been thin on the ground. However, the payout ratio is low, and some companies can deliver adequate dividend performance simply by increasing the payout ratio.
Conclusion
To summarise, shareholders should always check that Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, we like that Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A has a low and conservative payout ratio. Unfortunately, the company has not been able to generate earnings growth, and cut its dividend at least once in the past. Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A might not be a bad business, but it doesn't show all of the characteristics we look for in a dividend stock.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing.
We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
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