The board of YFY Inc. (TWSE:1907) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 9th of August, with investors receiving NT$0.90 per share. This payment means that the dividend yield will be 2.9%, which is around the industry average.
Check out our latest analysis for YFY
YFY's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. YFY was earning enough to cover the previous dividend, but it was paying out quite a large proportion of its free cash flows. By paying out so much of its cash flows, this could indicate that the company has limited opportunities for investment and growth.
Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 10.4% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 64%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.
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. The dividend has gone from an annual total of NT$0.40 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of NT$0.90. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.4% over that duration. We have seen cuts in the past, so while the growth looks promising we would be a little bit cautious about its track record.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. We are encouraged to see that YFY has grown earnings per share at 10% per year over the past five years. 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
Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The company hasn't been paying a very consistent dividend over time, despite only paying out a small portion of earnings. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for YFY (of which 1 is potentially serious!) 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.
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About TWSE:1907
YFY
An investment holding company, manufactures and sells paper and paper-related products in Taiwan.
Excellent balance sheet second-rate dividend payer.
