Dividend Kings In Focus: S&P World

Up to date on November ninth, 2023

The Dividend Kings are a selective group of shares which have elevated their dividends for at the least 50 years in a row. We imagine the Dividend Kings are among the many highest-quality dividend progress shares to purchase and maintain for the long run.

With this in thoughts, we created a full record of all of the Dividend Kings. You may obtain the total record, together with essential monetary metrics corresponding to dividend yields and price-to-earnings ratios, by clicking the hyperlink beneath:

One of many latest members to hitch this record is S&P World (SPGI). S&P World, like all Dividend Kings, has a really spectacular dividend observe report. It has paid a dividend yearly since 1937 and has raised its dividend for 50 years in a row.

This text will focus on the corporate’s enterprise overview, progress prospects, aggressive benefits, and anticipated returns.

Enterprise Overview

S&P World is a worldwide supplier of economic companies and enterprise info. The corporate traces its roots again to 1917 when McGraw Publishing Firm and the Hill Publishing Firm got here collectively. The corporate was first named McGraw Hill Monetary. In 1957, McGraw Hill launched the S&P 500, probably the most widely-recognized index of all large-cap U.S. shares.

S&P World gives monetary companies to the worldwide capital and commodity markets, together with credit score scores, benchmarks, analytics, and different information to commodity market members, capital markets, and automotive markets. The corporate’s 5 divisions are: Rankings, Market Intelligence, Commodity Insights, Mobility, and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

S&P World has a extremely worthwhile enterprise mannequin. It’s the trade chief in credit score scores and inventory market indexes, which permits it to generate high-profit margins and progress alternatives.

Supply: Investor Presentation

Notably, on February twenty eighth, 2022, S&P World merged with HIS Markit. The merger permits the corporate to supply a stronger, extra numerous product portfolio on a fair bigger scale. The corporate at the moment has a market capitalization of almost $120 billion and generates $12 billion of annual income.

S&P World posted third quarter earnings on November 2nd, 2023, and outcomes had been higher than anticipated on each the highest and backside strains. Adjusted earnings-per-share got here to $3.21, which was 17 cents forward of expectations. Income was up nearly 8% year-over-year to $3.08 billion, which was $50 million forward of estimates.

Bills had been $2.02 billion, down from $2.08 billion, and roughly flat year-over-year. Adjusted working revenue was $1.47 billion, up from $1.44 billion in Q2, and up from $1.32 billion a 12 months in the past.

Progress Prospects

S&P World has a formidable observe report. It has grown its earnings-per-share at a 19% compound annual progress price during the last eight years.

The corporate’s previous progress has been the results of a sequence of secular tendencies, that are, the truth is, nonetheless current at the moment. On condition that company debt has been very fashionable within the final decade, buoyed by low international rates of interest, enterprise scores have been essential. With the latest enhance in rates of interest, traders are prone to preserve a detailed eye on these scores. Nevertheless, because of elevated charges, fewer debt issuances come up, negatively impacting S&P World’s outcomes.

Moreover, the rising demand for monetary evaluation and ETFs ought to support in rising the corporate’s merchandise and earnings.

Share buybacks may even support in progress on a per-share foundation. The corporate additionally famous it was beginning a brand new $1.3 billion accelerated share repurchase program, price about 1% of the present float.

The corporate has additionally been very lively in acquisitions and divestments to boost its enterprise. First, the corporate accomplished a big merger with HIS Market in February 2022. In December 2022, the corporate acquired the Shades of Inexperienced enterprise from the Middle for Worldwide Local weather Analysis. This acquisition expanded S&P World Rankings’ second-party opinions (SPOs) providing.

And on January seventeenth, 2023, S&P World agreed to promote its Engineering Options Enterprise to KKR for $975 million in money, which might equal roughly $750 million after tax and be utilized to repurchase its personal shares.

Supply: Investor Presentation

Management just lately acknowledged that they count on to realize 7% to 9% natural annual income progress by 2025 – 2026. The corporate additionally expects to realize an adjusted working margin between 48% to 50% and low to mid-teens progress in annual adjusted diluted EPS.

We forecast that S&P World can develop its earnings-per-share by 10% over the subsequent 5 years.

Aggressive Benefits & Recession Efficiency

S&P World advantages from a number of aggressive benefits. The corporate operates within the extremely concentrated monetary scores trade. It’s considered one of solely three main credit standing businesses within the U.S. that management over 90% of worldwide monetary debt scores. The opposite two are Moody’s (MCO) and Fitch Rankings.

The corporate possesses a robust moat as there are super obstacles to entry in its trade. New entrants would discover it troublesome, if not not possible, to garner the required belief from the monetary trade and authorities to turn into an accepted score company.

S&P World’s aggressive benefit and moat enabled it to stay worthwhile even in the course of the Nice Recession when earnings decreased by -21% to $2.33. Whereas many corporations had been getting ready to collapse, S&P World was removed from reporting losses.

In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic disaster, S&P World’s outcomes held up tremendously, and the corporate achieved new report outcomes 12 months after 12 months.

Valuation & Anticipated Returns

Primarily based on our estimate for 2023 earnings-per-share of $12.55 and a present share worth of $388, shares of S&P World are buying and selling at a P/E ratio of 30.9.

This valuation is wealthy for S&P World, which has traded for a median P/E ratio of about 23 during the last 5 years. Our truthful worth estimate for the corporate is 26 occasions earnings, contemplating the corporate has produced robust outcomes lately.

Shares look like overvalued, buying and selling effectively forward of our estimates. If shares had been to retreat to a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.0 over the subsequent 5 years, traders would see a discount in annual returns of three.4%.

The inventory additionally has a present dividend yield of 0.9%. The dividend is extremely safe, with a payout ratio of solely 29%. Nevertheless, the yield will not be notably attractive for revenue traders.

Mixed with the estimated 10% earnings-per-share progress price, S&P World is forecasted to generate whole returns of seven.5% per 12 months by 2028. Given this price of return, S&P World shares are rated a maintain.

Closing Ideas

S&P World has skilled super progress within the final decade. Its aggressive benefits and robust place in its score trade oligopoly will proceed to guard the corporate’s draw back. Mixed with its robust share buyback program and strategic mergers & acquisitions exercise, the corporate has a shiny future nonetheless.

The corporate has now achieved Dividend King standing following its fiftieth consecutive annual dividend enhance. Nonetheless, the low dividend yield will not be so interesting.

In the meanwhile, although, shares are buying and selling for a wealthy valuation, which gravely reduces the attractiveness of the inventory.

Moreover, the next Positive Dividend databases comprise probably the most dependable dividend growers in our funding universe:

Should you’re searching for shares with distinctive dividend traits, think about the next Positive Dividend databases: