Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are a popular option for income investors.
Every year, the telco giant shares a good portion of its profits with its shareholders.
And while the company recently went through a difficult period of falling earnings and dividends due to the NBN rollout, this is well and truly behind it.
As a result, its earnings and dividends have returned to growth and its outlook is looking the most positive it has been in years.
But what's on the cards for the Telstra dividend in 2024 and beyond? Let's take a look and see what analysts are forecasting from the telco leader.
Telstra dividend outlook
According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe that Telstra will increase its dividend by 5.9% to a fully franked 18 cents per share in FY 2024.
Based on the current Telstra share price of $3.97, this will mean a 4.5% dividend yield for investors.
The good news is that the broker expects the company to be in a position to make further increases in both FY 2025 and FY 2026.
For those years, Goldman Sachs is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 19 cents and 20 cents, respectively. If the broker is on the money with its estimates, this will mean yields of 4.8% and 5% for those financial years.
Can Telstra shares rise?
More good news is that Goldman Sachs sees plenty of value in Telstra shares at the current level.
It has a buy rating and a $4.70 price target, which suggests a potential upside of 18% for investors over the next 12 months. Goldman commented:
We believe the low risk earnings (and dividend) growth that Telstra is delivering across FY22-25, underpinned through its mobile business, is attractive. We also believe that Telstra has a meaningful medium term opportunity to crystallise value through commencing the process to monetize its InfraCo Fixed assets – which we estimate could be worth between A$22-33bn.
