Fuji (TSE:8278) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of ¥15.00

The board of Fuji Co., Ltd. (TSE:8278) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥15.00 per share on the 28th of October. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 1.5%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

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Fuji's Projected Earnings Seem Likely To Cover Future Distributions

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. Prior to this announcement, Fuji's earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. In general, we consider cash flow to be more important than earnings, so we would be cautious about relying on the sustainability of this dividend.

Unless the company can turn things around, EPS could fall by 12.2% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 66%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

View our latest analysis for Fuji

Fuji Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from ¥15.00 total annually to ¥30.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 7.2% over that duration. Companies like this can be very valuable over the long term, if the decent rate of growth can be maintained.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. However, things aren't all that rosy. Fuji's EPS has fallen by approximately 12% per year during the past five years. Such rapid declines definitely have the potential to constrain dividend payments if the trend continues into the future.

In Summary

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. While Fuji is earning enough to cover the payments, the cash flows are lacking. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Fuji that investors should take into consideration. 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.