Yahoo Finance RMR Group (NASDAQ:RMR) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At $0.45
The RMR Group Inc. (NASDAQ:RMR) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 16th of May to $0.45, which will be 13% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of $0.40. This makes the dividend yield 6.7%, which is above the industry average.
View our latest analysis for RMR Group
RMR Group Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. The last dividend was quite easily covered by RMR Group's earnings. This means that a large portion of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 44.2%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could reach 97%, which could put the dividend under pressure if earnings don't start to improve.
RMR Group Is Still Building Its Track Record
The dividend's track record has been pretty solid, but with only 8 years of history we want to see a few more years of history before making any solid conclusions. The annual payment during the last 8 years was $1.00 in 2016, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $1.60. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 6.1% per annum over that time. RMR Group has a nice track record of dividend growth but we would wait until we see a longer track record before getting too confident.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Come By
Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Unfortunately things aren't as good as they seem. It's not great to see that RMR Group's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 6.4% per year over the past five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits.
In Summary
In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think RMR Group's payments are rock solid. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for RMR Group (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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.
