Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Limited's (HKG:1997) dividend is being reduced from last year's payment covering the same period to HK$0.60 on the 24th of April. However, the dividend yield of 6.3% still remains in a typical range for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Wharf Real Estate Investment

Wharf Real Estate Investment's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. Before making this announcement, Wharf Real Estate Investment's dividend was higher than its profits, but the free cash flows quite comfortably covered it. Generally, we think cash is more important than accounting measures of profit, so with the cash flows easily covering the dividend, we don't think there is much reason to worry.

According to analysts, EPS should be several times higher next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 52%, which would make us comfortable with the dividend's sustainability, despite the levels currently being elevated.

Wharf Real Estate Investment's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Wharf Real Estate Investment has been paying dividends for a while, but the track record isn't stellar. This makes us cautious about the consistency of the dividend over a full economic cycle. The dividend has gone from an annual total of HK$0.95 in 2018 to the most recent total annual payment of HK$1.24. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.9% over that duration. It's encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Earnings per share has been sinking by 26% over the last five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

Wharf Real Estate Investment's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

Overall, the dividend looks like it may have been a bit high, which explains why it has now been cut. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We don't think Wharf Real Estate Investment is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

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. For instance, we've picked out 3 warning signs for Wharf Real Estate Investment that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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