Yahoo Finance Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Is Increasing Its Dividend To US$2.00
The board of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 29th of September to US$2.00. This takes the annual payment to 1.5% of the current stock price, which unfortunately is below what the industry is paying.
Check out our latest analysis for Goldman Sachs Group
Goldman Sachs Group's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. However, Goldman Sachs Group's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 18.6% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 14%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.
Goldman Sachs Group Has A Solid Track Record
The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$1.40 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$8.00. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 19% over that duration. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. It's encouraging to see Goldman Sachs Group has been growing its earnings per share at 39% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.
Goldman Sachs Group Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock
Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. 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. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Just as an example, we've come across 3 warning signs for Goldman Sachs Group you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit unpleasant. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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