EDION (TSE:2730) Will Pay A Dividend Of ¥22.00

EDION Corporation (TSE:2730) will pay a dividend of ¥22.00 on the 2nd of December. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 2.7%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for EDION

EDION's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, EDION was earning enough to cover the dividend, but it wasn't generating any free cash flows. No cash flows could definitely make returning cash to shareholders difficult, or at least mean the balance sheet will come under pressure.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 1.0%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 57%, 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. The dividend has gone from an annual total of ¥20.00 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥45.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.4% over that duration. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though EDION's EPS has declined at around 4.0% a year. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about EDION's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. 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. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. To that end, EDION has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) 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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