The board of Derichebourg SA (EPA:DBG) has announced that it will pay a dividend of €0.13 per share on the 18th of February. This means the annual payment will be 1.9% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.
While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Before making this announcement, Derichebourg was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.
If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 41.9% over the next 12 months. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 13% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Check out our latest analysis for Derichebourg
The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from €0.05 total annually to €0.13. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 10% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.
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. We are encouraged to see that Derichebourg has grown earnings per share at 42% per year over the past five years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggest this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future.
Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Derichebourg might even raise payments in the future. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
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 Derichebourg that investors should take into consideration. 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.