Life (TSE:8194) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of ¥50.00

The board of Life Corporation (TSE:8194) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 1st of November, with investors receiving ¥50.00 per share. This takes the dividend yield to 2.6%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

Check out our latest analysis for Life

Life'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. However, prior to this announcement, Life'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.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 14.0% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 27%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Life 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 ¥100.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 15% 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

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. It's encouraging to see that Life has been growing its earnings per share at 18% a year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

Life 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. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 4 analysts we track are forecasting for Life for free with public analyst estimates for the company. Is Life 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.

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