Kawata Mfg (TSE:6292) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of ¥20.50

The board of Kawata Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TSE:6292) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 9th of December, with investors receiving ¥20.50 per share. This makes the dividend yield 4.6%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for Kawata Mfg

Kawata Mfg's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Based on the last payment, Kawata Mfg's earnings were much higher than the dividend, but it wasn't converting those earnings into cash flow. No cash flows could definitely make returning cash to shareholders difficult, or at least mean the balance sheet will come under pressure.

Unless the company can turn things around, EPS could fall by 10.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 40%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from ¥7.50 total annually to ¥41.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 19% 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.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

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. Kawata Mfg's EPS has fallen by approximately 11% per year during the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Kawata Mfg's 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. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. To that end, Kawata Mfg has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield 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.

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