Yahoo Finance Beach Energy's (ASX:BPT) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's
Beach Energy Limited's (ASX:BPT) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to A$0.02 on 31st of March. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 2.7%, which is below the industry average.
See our latest analysis for Beach Energy
Beach Energy's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
If it is predictable over a long period, even low dividend yields can be attractive. Before making this announcement, Beach Energy was paying a whopping 388% as a dividend, but this only made up 14% of its overall earnings. While the business may be attempting to set a balanced dividend policy, a cash payout ratio this high might expose the dividend to being cut if the business ran into some challenges.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 31.3% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 11% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Dividend Volatility
The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from A$0.0175 total annually to A$0.04. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 8.6% a year over that time. 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.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. However, Beach Energy has only grown its earnings per share at 2.2% per annum over the past five years. While growth may be thin on the ground, Beach Energy could always pay out a higher proportion of earnings to increase shareholder returns.
In Summary
Overall, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think Beach Energy will make a great income stock. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular 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 1 warning sign for Beach Energy 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.
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