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SBS Transit Ltd (SGX:S61) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 13th of May to SGD0.231. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 7.6%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.
Check out our latest analysis for SBS Transit
Estimates Indicate SBS Transit's Could Struggle to Maintain Dividend Payments In The Future
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, SBS Transit was paying out quite a large proportion of both earnings and cash flow, with the dividend being 290% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows certainly exposes the company to cutting the dividend if cash flows were to reduce.
If the company can't turn things around, EPS could fall by 2.9% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 147%, which could put the dividend in jeopardy if the company's earnings don't improve.
Dividend Volatility
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 SGD0.0215 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of SGD0.203. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 25% over that duration. SBS Transit has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, so we would be cautious about buying this stock solely for the dividend income.
SBS Transit May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend
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 not great to see that SBS Transit's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 2.9% per year over the past five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits.
The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable
Overall, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think SBS Transit will make a great income stock. The payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn't the best. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for SBS Transit 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.