Gateley (Holdings) (LON:GTLY) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

Gateley (Holdings) Plc (LON:GTLY) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 31st of March to £0.033, which will be 10% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of £0.03. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 4.7%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Gateley (Holdings)

Gateley (Holdings)'s Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. The last dividend made up a very large portion of earnings and also represented 87% of free cash flows. This is usually an indication that the focus of the company is returning cash to shareholders rather than reinvesting it for growth.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 26.9%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 61%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Gateley (Holdings)'s Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Even in its relatively short history, the company has reduced the dividend at least once. If the company cuts once, it definitely isn't argument against the possibility of it cutting in the future. Since 2016, the dividend has gone from £0.0379 total annually to £0.088. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 13% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Earnings has been rising at 4.5% per annum over the last five years, which admittedly is a bit slow. There are exceptions, but limited earnings growth and a high payout ratio can signal that a company has reached maturity. When a company prefers to pay out cash to its shareholders instead of reinvesting it, this can often say a lot about that company's dividend prospects.

In Summary

Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. While Gateley (Holdings) is earning enough to cover the dividend, we are generally unimpressed with its future prospects. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for Gateley (Holdings) that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. 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.

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