Yahoo Finance NetApp's (NASDAQ:NTAP) Dividend Will Be $0.50
The board of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.50 per share on the 25th of October. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 2.6%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.
See our latest analysis for NetApp
NetApp's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, NetApp was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 11.4%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 45%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.
NetApp Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.60 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $2.00. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 13% per annum over that time. 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 that NetApp has been growing its earnings per share at 42% a year over the past five years. Earnings have been growing rapidly, and with a low payout ratio we think that the company could turn out to be a great dividend stock.
We Really Like NetApp's Dividend
In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. 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.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for NetApp (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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.
