Knowit (STO:KNOW) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

The board of Knowit AB (publ) (STO:KNOW) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of SEK3.75 on the 21st of November, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the dividend yield to 5.5%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

Check out our latest analysis for Knowit

Knowit's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. The last payment made up 80% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. This leaves plenty of cash for reinvestment into the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 38.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 64%, which would make us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend, despite the levels currently being quite high.

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 2013, the dividend has gone from SEK3.25 total annually to SEK7.50. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.7% over that duration. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

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. It's not great to see that Knowit's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 3.1% per year over the past five years. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.

In Summary

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Knowit's payments are rock solid. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Knowit that investors should take into consideration. 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.