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Does dividend matter? A case for Pintaras Jaya by kcchongnz

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Publish date: Sat, 05 Apr 2014, 08:56 AM
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Does dividend matter? A case for Pintaras Jaya by kcchongnz

"The only thing that gives me pleasure is to see my dividend coming in." --John D. Rockefeller.

One of the simplest ways for companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder value is to say "the dividend will be credited into your account." Dividends send a clear, powerful positive signal about future prospects and performance of the company. A company's willingness and ability to pay steady dividends over time - and its power to increase them - provide good clues about its fundamentals and that the management is shareholders focus.

The breakdown of the return of market

The total return in investing in a stock comes in two parts:

Total return = Dividend + Capital gain

Dividend is the amount of distribution received by investors each year and capital gain depends on the earnings growth of the company and the change in valuation given to its stock when it is sold in the future. For many investors, regular and growing dividend payment is the utmost important consideration.


The US equity market provided a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of  return of about 10.4% from 1900 to 2000 which was made up of 5.0% in dividend yield, 4.8% from earnings growth and just 0.6% due to change in the Price-Earnings ratio (John Bogle of Vanguard). One can see that dividend yield made up the highest portion in the total return. The important question is, “Is a high dividend paying stock a good investment?”


Pintaras Jaya and its dividends

Let’s look at a high dividend stock in Bursa and its total return over the last 5 years, my favourite stock, Pintaras Jaya, a specialist foundation construction company as shown in Table 1 below.
 

Table 1: Return of share price from 2008 to 2013 (12/6/2013)

Year

2,014

2,013

2,012

2,011

2,010

2,009

 EPS

34.6

32.7

26.3

16.0

13.0

10.0

 Dividend, sen

15.0

12.5

10.0

9.5

7.5

5.0

 Payout ratio

43%

38%

38%

59%

58%

50%

 

Pintaras’s dividend payment has been growing from 5 sen in 2009 to an expected 15 sen for the fy ending 30 June 2014, for CAGR of 25%. This is in tandem with its CAGR of earnings of 28% of the same period. With this type of growth in earnings and dividend, what is the fair value of Pintaras?

 

Valuation of Pintaras using the dividend growth model

Financial theory postulated by John Burr Williams in his “The theory of investment value” says that the value of a stock is worth all of the future cash flows expected to be generated by the firm, discounted by an appropriate risk-adjusted rate.

For those who are interested in my valuation of Pintaras using free cash flow, and the justification of the discount rate of 10%, please refer to the following link:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46864.jsp

Here, we will use a different discount cash flow method basing on the cash flows from expected dividend payment for the next 5 years, and then assuming the stock is sold by the end of 5 years at a PE ratio of 15. The dividend payments and future expected stock price are discounted to the present value. For those who are interested in my justification of the PE ratio can refer to my post on Katsenelson’s Absolute PE below:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46422.jsp

Table 2 and 3 in the appendix show the data and assumptions and the discount cash flow model. The present or intrinsic value using this method is shown to be RM5.53 per share, representing a discount, or a margin of safety of 43% investing in Pintaras at today’s stock price of RM3.12.

Checklist for high dividend yield investing strategy

Throughout the years, the dividend yield for Pintaras averages about 7%. This is about double the yield one can get from bank deposits. However, the more important question is “Is the high and growing dividend of Pintaras sustainable?” The following shows a checklist.

 

  1. Does Pintaras has a strong economic moat?

Yes, a detail qualitative analysis of Pintaras has been done in the link below:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46430.jsp

Quantitatively, it is hard to argue that a company like Pintaras Jaya with a very high return of equity and invested capital of 30%, and plenty of free cash flow does not have economic moat.

  1. Does it have consistent and predictable earnings and cash flows?

Yes, the earnings of Pintaras has been growing at a CAGR of 27% since 2006. It has never made a loss in any year since public listing. Its cash flow is always positive. As most analysts are optimistic about the construction industry in the next few years, this trend is expected to continue. In fact with the recent award of the 74m foundation and basement project of the Merdeka Square, it will bring Pintaras to another level. Please refer to the following link about its consistent and predictability in earnings and cash flows:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46408.jsp

  1. Does it have a strong balance sheet so that dividends can easily be paid?

Yes, as at end of 2013, Pintaras has a total cash and cash equivalent of RM157m, or RM1.00 per share, and with zero debt. For those who are interested in the value of cash of Pintaras, please refer to the following link:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46492.jsp

  1. Is dividend payout ratio reasonable and not impeding growth?

The dividend payout ratio looks to see how well earnings support the dividend payment. If the ratio is low, it means that the dividend is easily covered by earnings.

Although Pintaras pays high dividend, its dividend payout ratio is only about 40% as shown in Table 1 above. Plenty of earnings are retained for growth and growth has seen to materialize.

  1. Has there been dividend growth?

Yes. Dividend has been growing at a high rate of 25% for the last 5 years as shown in Table 1 above. This trend is expected to continue with the expected growth in profit and cash flows.

Last but not the least, are we paying too high a price for a high dividend yield strategy for Pintaras? Definitely not, in my opinion as shown by the discount cash flow analysis on dividends and expected terminal share price above. Other valuation methods as shown in the following link also show there is still wide margin of safety investing in Pintaras at the present price or RM3.13 a share.

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46864.jsp

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46573.jsp

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/46422.jsp


The bottom line is that dividends matter. It provides the evidence of profitability of a company. Profits on paper say one thing about a company's prospects; profits that produce cash dividends say another thing entirely.

 

KC Chong (5/4/2014)

 

 

Table 2: Data and assumptions

Price

$3.13

Earnings per share

$0.346

Initial dividend

$0.150

Initial PER

9.0

Dividend growth

10%

5-year Earnings growth

10%

Earnings in 5 yrs

$0.56

 

Table 3: Valuation

           

Year

0

1

2

3

4

5

Dividend

 

$0.168

$0.188

$0.211

$0.236

$0.264

PV of dividend

 

$0.153

$0.156

$0.158

$0.161

$0.164

Total PV of dividend

$0.79

         

Share Price

$4.74

 

PE

15

 

$7.630

Total value

$5.53

         

Required return, Rr

10%

         

 


 

 

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5 people like this. Showing 12 of 12 comments

AyamTua

in short dividend-vesting also applies to hexza, willow and ntpm ... :-))

2014-04-05 09:16

爱丽斯 梦幻世界

If an investor investing a company with only hope can get dividend. I think he/she already right in attitude. He no need check the counter price frequently. I still far from this type. Still learning. Thanks KC Chong Nz for sharing.

2014-04-05 09:29

bsngpg

My emphasis on div is about 40% and another 60 % is on growth. When my age gets older or when the market is on higher valuation likes now, my emphasis on growth will be reduced while weightage on div increases. With these criteria in place, I do not buy BToto, Tenaga, BAT, GAB, Jtinter etc which give good div but fewer prospects on growth. How about Pintaras ? .........

2014-04-05 11:51

kcchongnz

Pintaras at RM3.13 now appears to be not cheap when compared with its adjusted price of about RM1.00 three years ago when I first wrote about it. Since then I still keep on writing about it.

Its dividend has grown by 50% from 10 sen to 15 sen now since three years ago. At this price its dividend yield is 4.8%, still much better than the bank FD rate. However the FD rate is not expected grow much for the next few years.

On the contrary, the dividend of Pintaras has been growing at 25% for the last 5 years and is expected to grow at least 10% for the next few years in my opinion. This is because the construction industry is expected to remain bullish until 2019 according to some analysts. Pintaras earnings and hence cash flows will grow at a reasonable rate of say 8% which will provide the cash required for a growing dividend payment. This is evidenced from its recent jobs secured. Furthermore, it has RM1.00 cash or cash equivalent in its balance sheet which will provide sustainable dividend payment for its shareholders.

I in fact expect the capital gain from its growth in earnings and expansion of the PE ratio will outpace the return from its dividend payment by a wide margin.

2014-04-05 17:38

KinSoon Kok

The reason why so many people kill the goose 4the golden egg is the absence of div. Therefore, I think one should have both growth & income stocks in portfolio in order to nurture the growth stocks as long as possible. Looking at unrealized paper gain surely excite us for a short period but definitely not for long.

2014-04-05 18:43

sunztzhe

The issue at hand is not whether dividends matter...the real issue at hand is to ask whether that particular company is well managed and is capable of growing its EPS and is in a growth industry for a certain period of time.

2014-04-05 23:28

kcchongnz

Posted by sunztzhe > Apr 5, 2014 11:28 PM | Report Abuse

The issue at hand is not whether dividends matter...the real issue at hand is to ask whether that particular company is well managed and is capable of growing its EPS and is in a growth industry for a certain period of time.


Excellent comment. If a company like Pintaras can earn a marginal return of capital of 19.4% each year, isn't it more sensible to leave the money in the company to continue earning that return, rather than withdrawing the dividend and spend it, if you trust the management? And where else can you get a return of 19.4% with the money you withdraw as dividend?

Need income? Why can't you sell part of the holding to get the income you need?

However, it is a positive signalling effect in good and growing dividend payment, showing the company is doing well in its business. A growing business will continue to grow its earnings and hence shareholder maximizing with the capital growth of its stock price.

For some companies with good earnings but little or no dividend, and questionable management capability and trustworthiness, it is good to have the dividend, rather than leaving all the money there for the management to manipulate, and engaging in shareholder value destroying such as wasting the cash in poor acquisition and hanky-panky business etc.

2014-04-06 07:55

bsngpg

“Need income? Why can't you sell part of the holding to get the income you need?”
With the same concept may I ask the same question from the opposite angle?
Need cash to expand biz ? Why can’t the mgt issues right to gather fund from shareholders?
Why can’t the mgt borrows from bank to grow biz ?
Isn’t it that the return of biz expansion should be higher than interest rate else why expand? This is with assumption that the mgt does not over borrow else it will lead to more complicated argument.

2014-04-06 08:32

bsngpg

“growing dividend payment, showing the company is doing well in its business.”

This is the greatest part of investment in equity. When I bought Zhulian at 0.90, I received 11sens div per year(~12%). With the fixed DPO at 60%, I received 16 sens last year(17.8%). It indicates earning has grown by 17.8/11=62%. I simplify the case without factoring in the 1:3 bonus issue in 2010.

Note : the above is history data. Lately Zhulian somehow turned turtle.

2014-04-06 08:43

bsngpg

The concept of public listing is to gather public money to grow a biz and share the return with the shareholders in the form of capital gain and div.
For many investors, dividend makes up part of the very important factor if to invest into a particular company. I do not have an official data, however I opine that EPF, Khazanah(ASN, ASB etc) and many dividend funds prefer companies with div as they need the div for the unit holders.

2014-04-06 08:49

kcchongnz

That is the whole point about capitalism, issue equities and debts for doing business. Debt is much cheaper than equity as the cost of debt is low at about 5%(?) now whereas the required return from shareholder is much higher than that (10%-15%). Hence it is better to borrow a lot of money to do business, so long as it doesn't cause the risk of bankruptcy when the economy turns for the worse. An optimal capital structure could be about 40% debt and 60% equity. That is perfectly alright. For this, look at those companies which provide ample free cash flows such as Nestle, BAT, Carlsberg, etc.

You may be mistaken that I shun debt, not at all. It is only when I compare two similar companies like the link below:

http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/49016.jsp

Company A and B both are in the similar business, having the same ROE, and both trading at the same PE ratio. Here it is very clear that company B with less debt and more excess cash is better than A which has less excess cash but more debt.

In Pintaras case, I prefer the management to pay out all cash and cash equivalent (RM1 per share)to shareholders, and even borrow some money and return this borrowing to shareholders. Pintaras can do it as it has the cash and the capability to borrow, and alter its capital structure, and yet would not affect its profitability, ROE etc significantly, and hence its share price. And that is the beauty of it having a lot of excess cash. Again, that is theory. There may be plausible reasons why Pintaras need to keep that cash. May be impending expansion. Need to buy more plant and equipment for more profitable jobs?

If a company has a lot of debt, how to do what Pintaras can do above?

2014-04-06 08:53

sunztzhe

If the company management thinks it cannot further improve the future EPS consistently with the excess cash that it has , it is better for management to decide to pay out dividends to shareholders with the excess cash it does not require for its business

2014-04-06 09:48

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