Yahoo Finance Wesfarmers' (ASX:WES) Dividend Will Be Reduced To AU$0.80
Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES) is reducing its dividend to AU$0.80 on the 30th of March. The yield is still above the industry average at 7.3%.
Check out our latest analysis for Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning
If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. At the time of the last dividend payment, Wesfarmers was paying out a very large proportion of what it was earning and 117% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows can expose the business to needing to cut the dividend if the business runs into some challenges.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 3.3%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could reach 178%, which probably can't continue putting some pressure on the balance sheet.
Dividend Volatility
While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from AU$1.55 to AU$1.70. Its dividends have grown at less than 1% per annum over this time frame. It's encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.
Dividend Growth Could Be Constrained
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. It's encouraging to see Wesfarmers has been growing its earnings per share at 30% a year over the past five years. EPS is growing rapidly, although the company is also paying out a large portion of its profits as dividends. If earnings keep growing, the dividend may be sustainable, but generally we'd prefer to see a fast growing company reinvest in further growth.
The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable
Overall, it's not great to see that the dividend has been cut, but this might be explained by the payments being a bit high previously. While we generally think the level of distributions are a bit high, we wouldn't rule it out as becoming a good dividend payer in the future as its earnings are growing healthily. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Wesfarmers that you should be aware of before investing. Is Wesfarmers not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.
