Yahoo Finance SSE's (LON:SSE) Dividend Will Be Increased To £0.29
The board of SSE plc (LON:SSE) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of £0.29 on the 9th of March, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the dividend yield to 5.3%, which shareholders will be pleased with.
View our latest analysis for SSE
SSE'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, SSE was paying out a fairly large proportion of earnings, and it wasn't generating positive free cash flows either. We think that this practice can make the dividend quite risky in the future.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 42.2%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 64%, which would make us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend, despite the levels currently being quite high.
Dividend Volatility
The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from an annual total of £0.801 in 2012 to the most recent total annual payment of £0.892. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1.1% a year over that time. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Come By
Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Over the past five years, it looks as though SSE's EPS has declined at around 6.8% a year. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.
SSE's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable
Overall, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think SSE will make a great income stock. The payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn't the best. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've identified 4 warning signs for SSE (2 are significant!) that you should be aware of before investing. Is SSE 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.
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