Siemens Healthineers (ETR:SHL) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

The board of Siemens Healthineers AG (ETR:SHL) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of €0.95 on the 20th of February, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. The payment will take the dividend yield to 1.8%, which is in line with the average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Siemens Healthineers

Siemens Healthineers' Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Siemens Healthineers' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and 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 expand by 37.9%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 40%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Siemens Healthineers Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

Looking back, the dividend has been stable, but the company hasn't been paying a dividend for very long so we can't be confident that the dividend will remain stable through all economic environments. The dividend has gone from an annual total of €0.70 in 2019 to the most recent total annual payment of €0.95. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 7.9% per annum over that time. Investors will likely want to see a longer track record of growth before making decision to add this to their income portfolio.

We Could See Siemens Healthineers' Dividend Growing

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Siemens Healthineers has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 5.7% per annum. Since earnings per share is growing at an acceptable rate, and the payout policy is balanced, we think the company is positioning itself well to grow earnings and dividends in the future.

In Summary

In summary, it's great to see that the company can raise the dividend and keep it in a sustainable range. 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.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Just as an example, we've come across 2 warning signs for Siemens Healthineers you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here