It's critical not to yield to compression
That was in May 2012 when Telstra's shares were trading at $3.60. Today the company is 27 per cent higher and in the meantime has paid shareholders another 28¢ in fully franked dividends. That equates to a total return of almost 35 per cent in less than a year.
During the nine-month period in focus, Telstra's dividend yield has shrunk from 7.7 per cent fully franked to 6.1 per cent. In virtually every phase of sharemarket history new terms are coined and this time around we are talking about "yield compression".
Is yield compression a permanent arrival in our sharemarket or just a response to historically low interest rates? The yield compression believers think a structural change is taking place as an ageing population hunts for as many fully franked dividends in their superannuation funds as possible After all, the population bump of baby boomers ranges from 49 to 67 years of age and they need to fund their retirements.
The army of retirees looking for tax-effective dividends doesn't have only Telstra in its sights. They have clambered after a list of defensive, high-yielding stocks, including the seemingly bulletproof banking sector.
Investors in Commonwealth Bank have enjoyed a total return of 34 per cent in the past nine months, compressing the yield of the company from 6.9 per cent to 5.9 per cent.
We should not be fooled though. Yield compression, where share prices go higher and dividends stay flat, is simply another term for price-to-earnings (PE) expansion. In layman's terms, the sharemarket - the big-yield stocks in particular - is becoming more expensive. Investors should never take a tunnel vision view of stocks. Sure, the dividend yield is critical in the decision to buy or sell a stock, but so is capital gain or loss. We tend to lose sight of the capital side of the equation when the market heads high month after month.
The overall PE of the market has expanded a whopping 30 per cent in just eight months from a lowly 10.5 times to almost 14 times. This is not ridiculously expensive and history tells us the multiple can expand by another 7-10 per cent before we get into dangerous territory. In this current run I would not only expect the PE multiple to expand by another 10 per cent but I also expect we will see overall earnings grow by about 8 per cent. That would push the sharemarket up another 18 per cent from here.
With this backdrop it is important to examine the high-yielding defensive plays. Telstra's one-year forward PE has risen from 9.1 times in early 2011 to 14.5 times today. That is a mighty price for a company generating earnings and revenue growth of about 5 per cent. A 10 per cent move in its PE to 16 times forward earnings would render the stock expensive and increase risk. In this scenario the yield would compress to 5.5 per cent.
The move has been even more pronounced with CBA. The one-year forward PE of Australia's biggest bank hit a nadir of 6.6 times in early 2009, rising to 11.4 times in July 2012 on its way to 14.5 times today. CBA's PE has been higher only twice in the past decade. To look at it another way, CBA's market value is about 2.5 times its book value, compared with a global average of closer to 1.5 times.
Is this movement a structural change or simply a normal cycle? It makes eminent sense to prefer a 6 per cent fully franked yield over a 4 per cent term deposit that will get taxed at your income rate.
I do not believe this is a permanent change. The stockmarket rally since June has been inspired by declining interest rates, forcing people out of term deposits into higher-yielding instruments such as Telstra and the banks. Many will argue that interest rates were coming down well before the sharemarket took off and yield compression took hold. That is true, but as long as a person could get 6.5 per cent for their term deposit they were happy not to take the risk of buying stocks. This opportunity evaporated in 2012.
Interest rates in Australia are unlikely to head north any time soon. But they may well spike late in 2013, causing valuations to change.
After a major sharemarket rally in 1993 Australian bank shares went through a near 30 per cent decline in 1994 as bond prices collapsed and yields jumped. It would be interesting to see who would be happy to pick up their 5.9 per cent fully franked yield as CBA's share price slumps 30 per cent.
The fact is that individual companies carry risks that can't be ignored. Otherwise they would simply be listed bonds.
It would be naive to simply concentrate on yields and ignore other time-honoured measures of value. At some stage yield will become a crowded trade just like every other booming asset class has over the past 500 years.
matthewjkidman@gmail.com
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Yield compression, as described in the article, is when share prices rise while dividends stay flat — effectively shrinking dividend yields. It's really just price-to-earnings (PE) expansion in another guise. Everyday investors should care because it means high-yield defensive stocks are getting more expensive, so focusing only on yield can hide capital-loss risk if valuations reverse.
The article notes that Telstra shares traded at $3.60 in May 2012 and were 27% higher less than a year later, while paying an additional 28¢ in fully franked dividends. Telstra's dividend yield compressed from 7.7% to 6.1% over the nine-month period, producing almost a 35% total return in under a year.
According to the article, investors in Commonwealth Bank enjoyed a roughly 34% total return over nine months, which compressed the bank's dividend yield from about 6.9% to 5.9%. The one-year forward PE for CBA rose from a low of 6.6 times in early 2009 to 11.4 times in July 2012 and about 14.5 times at the article's date.
The article argues against treating yield compression as permanent. While some believe an ageing population chasing fully franked dividends could be structural, the author believes the rally and resulting yield compression since June were driven largely by falling interest rates — a cyclical factor — and that valuations could change if interest rates spike.
The article explains the link: lower interest and term deposit rates pushed savers into higher-yielding shares like Telstra and the big banks, supporting price rises and compressing yields. When term deposit rates were around 6.5%, many preferred not to take stock risk; once those rates evaporated, demand for dividend-paying stocks rose. A future rise in interest rates could reverse that trend.
No. The article cautions against tunnel vision on yield. Dividend yield is important, but capital gain or loss matters too. Investors should also consider valuation measures such as PE ratios, earnings growth prospects and company-specific risks rather than buying solely for yield.
The article cites several signals: the overall market PE rose about 30% in eight months from roughly 10.5x to almost 14x; Telstra's one-year forward PE climbed from about 9.1x in early 2011 to 14.5x; and CBA's market value was around 2.5 times book value versus a global average near 1.5 times. These moves indicate PE expansion and higher valuation risk.
The article warns that companies carry risks you can't ignore — share prices can fall sharply if interest rates rise or earnings disappointment occurs. It gives a historical example where Australian bank shares fell nearly 30% after bond yields jumped. So, while fully franked dividends can be tax-efficient, investors should balance yield with valuation, diversification and the possibility of rising interest rates.
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