Premium Group (TSE:7199) Is Increasing Its Dividend To ¥20.00

Premium Group Co., Ltd. (TSE:7199) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 9th of December to ¥20.00. This takes the annual payment to 2.0% of the current stock price, which unfortunately is below what the industry is paying.

Check out our latest analysis for Premium Group

Premium Group's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Premium Group's dividend was only 23% of earnings, however it was paying out 426% of free cash flows. A cash payout ratio this high could put the dividend under pressure and force the company to reduce it in the future if it were to run into tough times.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 18.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 26% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Premium Group Is Still Building Its Track Record

Premium Group's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of ¥14.17 in 2018 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥40.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 19% over that duration. The dividend has been growing rapidly, however with such a short payment history we can't know for sure if payment can continue to grow over the long term, so caution may be warranted.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. We are encouraged to see that Premium Group has grown earnings per share at 27% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

In Summary

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Premium Group's payments are rock solid. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, Premium Group has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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