OMV Petrom (BVB:SNP) Is Increasing Its Dividend To RON0.0375

The board of OMV Petrom S.A. (BVB:SNP) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of RON0.0375 on the 7th of June, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 7.9% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for OMV Petrom

OMV Petrom Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Before making this announcement, OMV Petrom was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

EPS is set to fall by 55.2% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 136%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was RON0.031 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was RON0.0375. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 1.9% over that duration. It's encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. It's encouraging to see that OMV Petrom has been growing its earnings per share at 29% a year over the past five years. Earnings have been growing rapidly, and with a low payout ratio we think that the company could turn out to be a great dividend stock.

An additional note is that the company has been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 18% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective.

OMV Petrom Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that OMV Petrom is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for OMV Petrom (of which 1 can't be ignored!) 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.