Bunzl (LON:BNZL) Is Increasing Its Dividend To £0.538

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 2nd of July to £0.538. This takes the dividend yield to 3.2%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. Bunzl's stock price has reduced by 33% in the last 3 months, which is not ideal for investors and can explain a sharp increase in the dividend yield.

We've discovered 3 warning signs about Bunzl. View them for free.

Bunzl's Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Bunzl's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 18.5% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 43% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

See our latest analysis for Bunzl

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from £0.334 total annually to £0.739. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.3% over that duration. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

Bunzl Could Grow Its Dividend

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Bunzl has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 7.9% 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.

Our Thoughts On Bunzl's Dividend

Overall, it's great to see the dividend being raised and that it is still in a sustainable range. While the payout ratios are a good sign, we are less enthusiastic about the company's dividend record. Taking all of this into consideration, the dividend looks viable moving forward, but investors should be mindful that the company has pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the past and may do so again.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. 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 picked out 3 warning signs for Bunzl that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.