The board of Open Up Group Inc. (TSE:2154) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 2nd of March, with investors receiving ¥35.00 per share. This makes the dividend yield 4.6%, which is above the industry average.
A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Open Up Group's earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 5.9%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 57% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
View our latest analysis for Open Up Group
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 ¥17.50 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥85.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 17% over that duration. 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.
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's encouraging to see that Open Up Group has been growing its earnings per share at 41% a year over the past five years. Open Up Group is clearly able to grow rapidly while still returning cash to shareholders, positioning it to become a strong dividend payer in the future.
Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Open Up Group is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Open Up Group that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.