Okabe (TSE:5959) Is Increasing Its Dividend To ¥15.00

Okabe Co., Ltd. (TSE:5959) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 4th of September to ¥15.00. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 3.9%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Okabe

Okabe Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Okabe is not generating a profit, but its free cash flows easily cover the dividend, leaving plenty for reinvestment in the business. This gives us some comfort about the level of the dividend payments.

Over the next year, EPS might fall by 27.3% based on recent performance. While this means that the company will be unprofitable, we generally believe cash flows are more important, and the current cash payout ratio is quite healthy, which gives us comfort.

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 ¥18.00 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was ¥30.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 5.2% over that duration. We have seen cuts in the past, so while the growth looks promising we would be a little bit cautious about its track record.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

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. Okabe's earnings per share has shrunk at 27% a year over the past five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

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. For example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Okabe (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing. Is Okabe 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.