ITOCHU's (TSE:8001) Dividend Will Be ¥80.00

ITOCHU Corporation (TSE:8001) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥80.00 per share on the 26th of June. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 2.4%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for ITOCHU

ITOCHU's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, prior to this announcement, ITOCHU's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 29.9%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 27% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

ITOCHU Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from ¥42.00 total annually to ¥160.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 14% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. ITOCHU has impressed us by growing EPS at 12% per year over the past five years. ITOCHU definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

ITOCHU Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that ITOCHU is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for ITOCHU that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is ITOCHU 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.