Yahoo Finance Volution Group plc (LON:FAN) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A 1.7% Dividend
It looks like Volution Group plc (LON:FAN) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 21st of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of December.
Volution Group's next dividend payment will be UK£0.033 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of UK£0.049 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Volution Group has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current share price of £2. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Volution Group
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Volution Group paid out more than half (53%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Volution Group generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 35% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's encouraging to see Volution Group has grown its earnings rapidly, up 33% a year for the past five years. Management appears to be striking a nice balance between reinvesting for growth and paying dividends to shareholders. Earnings per share have been growing quickly and in combination with some reinvestment and a middling payout ratio, the stock may have decent dividend prospects going forwards.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last five years, Volution Group has lifted its dividend by approximately 18% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.
The Bottom Line
Is Volution Group an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Volution Group's growing earnings per share and conservative payout ratios make for a decent combination. We also like that it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. Volution Group looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.
Wondering what the future holds for Volution Group? See what the five analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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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.
