Yahoo Finance Should SpaceandPeople plc (LON:SAL) Be Part Of Your Dividend Portfolio?
A large part of investment returns can be generated by dividend-paying stock given their role in compounding returns over time. Historically, SpaceandPeople plc (LON:SAL) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 8.6%. Does SpaceandPeople tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I’ll take you through my analysis.
Check out our latest analysis for SpaceandPeople
5 questions I ask before picking a dividend stock
When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:
Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?
Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?
Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?
Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?
How does SpaceandPeople fare?
The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 42%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect SAL’s payout to remain around the same level at 41% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of 9.3%. In addition to this, EPS is forecasted to fall to £0.024 in the upcoming year.
When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.
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. Not only have dividend payouts from SpaceandPeople fallen over the past 10 years, it has also been highly volatile during this time, with drops of over 25% in some years. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends.
Relative to peers, SpaceandPeople generates a yield of 8.6%, which is high for Media stocks.
Next Steps:
Taking into account the dividend metrics, SpaceandPeople ticks most of the boxes as a strong dividend investment, putting it in my list of top dividend payers. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. I’ve put together three key aspects you should look at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SAL’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SAL’s outlook.
Valuation: What is SAL 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 SAL 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.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
