EPCOLtd (TSE:2311) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of ¥18.00

EPCO Co.,Ltd. (TSE:2311) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥18.00 per share on the 27th of March. This makes the dividend yield 4.2%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for EPCOLtd

EPCOLtd's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, EPCOLtd's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 12.8% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 44%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

EPCOLtd Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from ¥25.00 total annually to ¥32.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 2.5% per annum over that time. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. EPCOLtd has impressed us by growing EPS at 13% per year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

We Really Like EPCOLtd's Dividend

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for EPCOLtd that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is EPCOLtd 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.