Should Fjord1 ASA (OB:FJORD) Be Part Of Your Dividend Portfolio?

Dividends can be underrated but they form a large part of investment returns, playing an important role in compounding returns in the long run. Fjord1 ASA (OB:FJORD) has begun paying dividends recently. It now yields 6.3%. Let's dig deeper into whether Fjord1 should have a place in your portfolio.

View our latest analysis for Fjord1

5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
• Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?
• Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?
• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
• Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?

How does Fjord1 fare?

The company currently pays out 50% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. However, going forward, analysts expect FJORD's payout to fall to 0.1% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of around 4.1%. Furthermore, EPS is also forecasted to fall to NOK3.27 in the upcoming year. The lower EPS on top of a lower payout ratio will lead to a fall in dividend payment moving forward.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.

If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it's dividend stocks and their constant income stream. Unfortunately, it is really too early to view Fjord1 as a dividend investment. Last year was the company's first dividend payment, so it is certainly early days. The standard practice for reliable payers is to look for 10 or so years of track record.

In terms of its peers, Fjord1 has a yield of 6.3%, which is high for Shipping stocks.

Next Steps:

Considering the dividend attributes we analyzed above, Fjord1 is definitely worth keeping an eye on for someone looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. I've put together three key aspects you should further examine:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for FJORD’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for FJORD’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is FJORD worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether FJORD is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.