Stock Valuation & Dividend Analysis: Hitachi Ltd (6501)

Name of Company Country of Origin/ Exchange Traded Sector Stock Price
HITACHI LTD Japan/
TSE
Technology – Application Software – Information Technology Services JPY810.20
@ 28 Jul 2018
COMPANY PROFILE Hitachi Ltd provides IT services and has an expertise in the range of business fields, including financial services, infrastructure, and construction.

Hitachi Ltd provides IT services and has an expertise in the range of business fields, including financial services. The company’s main products and services include system integration, consulting, cloud services, servers, storage, software, telecommunications and networks, and ATMs. Hitachi operates in various segments namely, Information and Telecommunication Systems; Social Infrastructure and Industrial Systems; Electronic Systems and Equipment; Construction Machinery; High Functional Materials and Components; Automotive Systems; Smart Life and Ecofriendly Systems; Financial Services; and Others.

Stock Code 6501
Stock Valuation and Dividend Analysis Below

Hitachi Dividend Yield

For stocks that has a history of paying meaningful dividends, the stock price is often dependent on how much dividend the company pays.
At the price of JPY810.20 as at 28 Jul 2018, Hitachi Ltd is trading at a Dividend Yield of 1.9%. This is a 11.3% discount to its historical average Dividend Yield of 1.7%.  (Note: The lower/higher the dividend yield, the more expensive/cheaper the stock is.)
Is the stock overvalued? One should not just look at one indicator to determine the fair value of a stock.
ProThinker believes in using a combination of valuation methods to decide whether a stock is over or undervalued? The five ratios we use are Price to Earnings, Price to Sales, Price to Cash Flow, Price to Book and Dividend Yield. We use multiple methods to value a stock because each has its benefits as well as shortcomings. Price to Earnings and Price to Cash Flow Ratios relate stock price to profitability but are meaningless when the comany has negative earnings or cash flows. Price to Sales Ratio is more stable because sales are never negative. However, this does not tell us whether the company is able to sell profitably. Price to Book Ratio gives us an indication as to how much we are paying for the company’s assets but it is not directly related to the company’s profitability. Dividend Yield cannot be used for companies that are paying little to no dividends.
While it is important to value stocks based on multiple valuation methods, this often leads to differing views on valuation. One indicator may suggest that a stock is overvalued while another suggest that it is undervalued. This does not help an investor who needs to make a definite decision whether to buy, hold or sell the stock. That is why we advocate the use of a Composite Valuation Indicator, which is derived from the best combination of the five indicators above. A Composite Valuation Indicator will give you ONE conclusion on whether a stock is under or over valued.
To find out more about our valuation methodology, click here. 
We should not only be concerned about the amount of dividends, we should determine if the dividends paid out by the company are sustainable. One way to do that is to compare dividends paid out to the cash flows that the company is generating.
The company usually pays less dividends than its free cash flow, which is good.

Hitachi Dividend vs Free Cash Flow