UMS Holdings (SGX:558) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of SGD0.02

The board of UMS Holdings Limited (SGX:558) has announced that it will pay a dividend of SGD0.02 per share on the 22nd of May. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 4.2%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for UMS Holdings

UMS Holdings' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. However, UMS Holdings' earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 0.4%. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 36%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was SGD0.0307 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was SGD0.044. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.7% over that duration. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.

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. We are encouraged to see that UMS Holdings has grown earnings per share at 14% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.

UMS Holdings Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. 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. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for UMS Holdings that you should be aware of before investing. 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.