Marubeni's (TSE:8002) Dividend Will Be Increased To ¥45.00

Marubeni Corporation (TSE:8002) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 2nd of December to ¥45.00. This takes the annual payment to 3.0% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Marubeni

Marubeni's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. However, prior to this announcement, Marubeni's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 4.9%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 34%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was ¥25.00, compared to the most recent full-year payment of ¥90.00. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 14% a year over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Marubeni has impressed us by growing EPS at 17% per year over the past five years. Marubeni definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

Marubeni Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. To that end, Marubeni has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) 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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