How does the Woolworths dividend compare to Wesfarmers over the last 5 years?

How does the Woolworths dividend fare against its biggest rival?

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Key points
  • The Woolworths share price has advanced by 40% in the past 5 years 
  • The conglomerate's dividends have been relatively consistent with the board paying out $4.96 since this time in 2017 
  • In contrast, Wesfarmers has distributed $10.49 in dividends over the same time frame 

Tough retail conditions brought on by sky-high inflation have impacted the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price in 2022.

Nonetheless, the conglomerate's shares are up more than 40% over the last 5 years.

While this is nothing to get overly excited about, it's the consistent dividends that have supplemented investor income.

At the time of writing, Woolworths shares are trading at $35.80, down 0.78% for the day.

Let's take a look and see how much Woolworths has paid to shareholders from this time in 2017.

Woman in business suit holds both hands out with a question mark above each hand.

Image source: Getty Images

A brief rundown on the Woolworths dividend history

Listed below is a quick look at the dividends distributed from Woolworths over 5 years ago.

  • October 2017 – 50 cents (final)
  • April 2018 – 43 cents (interim)
  • October 2018 – 50 cents (final)
  • October 2018 – 10 cents (special dividend)
  • April 2019 – 45 cents (interim)
  • September 2019 – 57 cents (final)
  • April 2020 – 46 cents (interim)
  • October 2020 – 48 cents (final)
  • April 2021 – 53 cents (interim)
  • October 2021 – 55 cents (final)
  • April 2022 – 39 cents (interim)

Calculating the above amounts, Woolworths has paid a total of $4.96 in dividends to shareholders since this time in 2017.

Furthermore, the company has a current dividend yield of 2.62%.

So how does this compare with the Wesfarmers dividend?

Woolworths' main competitor, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) has also seen its share price tank in recent times.

However, in similar fashion, the diversified company's shares are up 48% over the 5-year period.

When looking at the dividend history, Wesfarmers has distributed a total amount of $10.49 to shareholders since 2017.

Keep in mind that Wesfarmers shares are fetching at $42.26, slightly above its peer.

But, when pitting the two blue-chip companies against each other, it's the Wesfarmers dividend that comes out on top.

To compare the pair, Woolworths' dividend reflects a payout of around 14% of its current share price.

On the other hand, the Wesfarmers dividend represents roughly 25%.

Wesfarmers has a dividend yield of 4.02%.

Woolworths share price summary

A volatile 2022 has driven the Woolworths share price to register a loss of almost 6% for the period.

Based on valuation grounds, Woolworths presides a market capitalisation of approximately $43.04 billion.

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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