Polyus (MCX:PLZL) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At ₽267

Public Joint Stock Company Polyus' (MCX:PLZL) dividend will be increasing to ₽267 on 1st of January. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 4.9%, which is below the industry average.

View our latest analysis for Polyus

Polyus Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

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, Polyus' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 7.9%. However, if the dividend continues growing 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

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from US$0.68 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of US$8.28. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 28% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Polyus has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 26% per annum. The company's earnings per share has grown rapidly in recent years, and it has a good balance between reinvesting and paying dividends to shareholders, so we think that Polyus could prove to be a strong dividend payer.

We Really Like Polyus' Dividend

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

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 instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Polyus that investors should take into consideration. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a solid dividend.

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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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