The board of Bank of The Ryukyus, Limited (TSE:8399) has announced that it will pay a dividend of ¥27.00 per share on the 25th of June. This takes the annual payment to 2.9% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.
We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important.
Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Bank of The Ryukyus has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 25%, which means that Bank of The Ryukyus would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.
Looking forward, earnings per share could rise by 17.5% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the future payout ratio will be 25%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.
See our latest analysis for Bank of The Ryukyus
The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from an annual total of ¥30.00 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of ¥54.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 6.1% 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.
Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. It's encouraging to see that Bank of The Ryukyus has been growing its earnings per share at 18% a 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.
In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. 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.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Bank of The Ryukyus that investors should take into consideration. Is Bank of The Ryukyus not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.