Nippon Tungsten Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:6998) investors are due to receive a payment of ¥25.00 per share on 9th of June. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 3.5%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.
If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. However, Nippon Tungsten's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.
If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 5.5% over the next 12 months. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 39% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
View our latest analysis for Nippon Tungsten
Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from ¥20.00 total annually to ¥50.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 9.6% over that duration. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.
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 Nippon Tungsten has grown earnings per share at 5.5% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.
In summary, we are pleased with the dividend remaining consistent, and we think there is a good chance of this continuing in the future. The payout ratio looks good, but unfortunately the company's dividend track record isn't stellar. The payment isn't stellar, but it could make a decent addition to a dividend portfolio.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. As an example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Nippon Tungsten that you should be aware of before investing. Is Nippon Tungsten not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.
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