Kitron's (OB:KIT) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Kitron ASA (OB:KIT) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 16th of May to €0.75. This takes the annual payment to 2.3% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Kitron

Kitron Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. However, Kitron's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Earnings per share is forecast to rise by 17.2% over the next year. However, if the dividend continues along recent trends, it could start putting pressure on the balance sheet with the payout ratio getting very high over the next year.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was €0.0118, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €0.0642. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 19% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Kitron has grown earnings per share at 32% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

Kitron Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Kitron that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.