Is Bilfinger SE (FRA:GBF) A Smart Pick For Income Investors?

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Dividends play a key role in compounding returns over time and can form a large part of our portfolio return. Historically, Bilfinger SE (FRA:GBF) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 3.0%. Does Bilfinger tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.

Check out our latest analysis for Bilfinger

5 checks you should do on a dividend stock

When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:

• Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?

• Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?

• Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past?

• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

• Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?

DB:GBF Historical Dividend Yield, February 21st 2019

Does Bilfinger pass our checks?

The current payout ratio for GBF is negative, which is not great.

When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock you’re eyeing out is reliable in its payments. Dividend payments from Bilfinger have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends.

Compared to its peers, Bilfinger has a yield of 3.0%, which is high for Commercial Services stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.

Next Steps:

Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in Bilfinger for the dividend. On the other hand, if you are not strictly just a dividend investor, the stock could still be offering some interesting investment opportunities. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. Below, I’ve compiled three fundamental factors you should look at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GBF’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for GBF’s outlook.

2. Valuation: What is GBF worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether GBF is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.