Life's (TSE:8194) Dividend Will Be ¥50.00

The board of Life Corporation (TSE:8194) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥50.00 per share on the 1st of November. This makes the dividend yield 2.5%, which is above the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Life

Life's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. However, Life's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 16.0% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 26%, 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 means that it has been growing its distributions at 15% per annum over that time. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. We are encouraged to see that Life has grown earnings per share at 18% per year over the past five years. Life definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

We Really Like Life's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 4 Life analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on 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.