Yahoo Finance What To Know Before Buying HomeServe plc (LON:HSV) For Its Dividend
A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. Historically, HomeServe plc (LON:HSV) has been paying a dividend to shareholders. Today it yields 2.0%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Let’s take a look at HomeServe in more detail.
See our latest analysis for HomeServe
5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock
When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:
Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?
Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?
How does HomeServe fare?
HomeServe has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 67%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting lower payout ratio of 57% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 2.4%. However, EPS should increase to £0.33, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.
When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.
Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. HSV has increased its DPS from £0.067 to £0.19 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.
Relative to peers, HomeServe has a yield of 2.0%, which is on the low-side for Commercial Services stocks.
Next Steps:
With this in mind, I definitely rank HomeServe as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. 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. There are three essential aspects you should further examine:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for HSV’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for HSV’s outlook.
Valuation: What is HSV 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 HSV is currently mispriced by the market.
Other 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.
