Redde Northgate (LON:REDD) Is Increasing Its Dividend To £0.075

Redde Northgate plc (LON:REDD) will increase its dividend on the 13th of January to £0.075, which is 25% higher than last year's payment from the same period of £0.06. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 5.1%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Redde Northgate

Redde Northgate's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Based on the last payment, Redde Northgate was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 24.6%. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 53%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

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Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from £0.03 total annually to £0.21. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 21% per annum over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

We Could See Redde Northgate's Dividend Growing

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Redde Northgate has impressed us by growing EPS at 7.6% per year over the past five years. Shareholders are getting plenty of the earnings returned to them, which combined with strong growth makes this quite appealing.

In Summary

Overall, this is a reasonable dividend, and it being raised is an added bonus. The dividend has been at reasonable levels historically, but that hasn't translated into a consistent payment. The dividend looks okay, but there have been some issues in the past, so we would be a little bit cautious.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 3 warning signs for Redde Northgate (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing. Is Redde Northgate 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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