Seikitokyu Kogyo (TSE:1898) Has Announced A Dividend Of ¥45.00

Seikitokyu Kogyo Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:1898) investors are due to receive a payment of ¥45.00 per share on 26th of June. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 4.7%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Seikitokyu Kogyo

Seikitokyu Kogyo Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, the company's dividend was higher than its profits, and made up 94% of cash flows. While the cash payout ratio isn't necessarily a cause for concern, the company is probably focusing more on returning cash to shareholders than growing the business.

EPS is set to fall by 11.6% over the next 12 months if recent trends continue. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 203%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.

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. The annual payment during the last 10 years was ¥10.00 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was ¥90.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 25% over that duration. 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

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Earnings per share has been sinking by 12% over the last five years. Such rapid declines definitely have the potential to constrain dividend payments if the trend continues into the future.

Seikitokyu Kogyo's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Seikitokyu Kogyo's payments are rock solid. The track record isn't great, and the payments are a bit high to be considered sustainable. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. 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 2 warning signs for Seikitokyu Kogyo that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Seikitokyu Kogyo not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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