BTS Group (STO:BTS B) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

BTS Group AB (publ) (STO:BTS B) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 22nd of May to SEK2.70. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.7%, which is below the industry average.

See our latest analysis for BTS Group

BTS Group's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. Prior to this announcement, BTS Group was quite comfortably covering its dividend with earnings and it was paying more than 75% of its free cash flow to shareholders. The company is clearly earning enough to pay this type of dividend, but it is definitely focused on returning cash to shareholders, rather than growing the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 81.4% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 30%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from SEK1.60 total annually to SEK5.40. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 13% per annum over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

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. BTS Group has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 15% per annum. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

In Summary

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think BTS Group's payments are rock solid. While BTS Group is earning enough to cover the dividend, we are generally unimpressed with its future prospects. We don't think BTS Group is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for BTS Group that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. 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.