Do you ever take a look at a FTSE 100 inventory and assume it actually needs to be your prime dividend candidate? I usually do, and on this case, I preserve coming again to M&G (LSE: MNG) and its forecast dividend yield of a whopping 9.7%.

That may be sufficient to show a single 12 months’s Shares and Shares ISA allowance into £50,000 in 10 years. That’s by dividends alone, investing them in new shares. And never including a single new penny to the pot for the entire decade.

It additionally ignores any attainable share price good points we’d get pleasure from too. Saying that, since M&G demerged from Prudential in 2019, the price is down 6%. Possibly it wasn’t one of the best time to return to market, simply earlier than the Covid pandemic devastated the monetary sector.

Defend from threat

It nonetheless reminds us that we are able to’t make certain of any inventory’s progress, and we actually want some diversification to guard our cash from a person firm or sector crash.

I have to additionally stress that dividends don’t include a assure. Vodafone‘s a very good instance with an anticipated 9.9% this 12 months. However we already know that the agency plans to halve it subsequent 12 months.

And that’s why holding a diversified portfolio could make an enormous security distinction to dividends too, not simply share costs.

However let’s look nearer at M&G.

What does it do?

M&G is a financial savings and investments supervisor. And that’s actually why it suffered a lot inventory market crash ache in 2020, added to by the following rises in inflation. It’s simply not a enterprise in nice demand when folks have much less money to take a position, and are fearful of the entire thing anyway.

However a nasty spell for an organization’s share price could be a nice alternative for personal buyers to get in low cost. And on the valuation entrance, a ahead price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of solely 7.5 makes the inventory look low cost to me.

To stability that although, analysts do anticipate M&G’s earnings per share (EPS) to dip by 10% in 2025, earlier than getting again to development in 2026. Even then, in 2026, it could nonetheless be a bit under 2024 expectations.

It suggests the P/E may rise to eight.4 subsequent 12 months, earlier than falling again to round 7.5 once more.

Dangerous purchase?

That diploma of uncertainty within the forecast, which is a little bit of a black artwork anyway, exhibits what I feel could possibly be the principle threat. That’s volatility, in response to financial fears which are nonetheless with us.

Forecast earnings would solely cowl these dividends by a squeak too. Which means I couldn’t charge it as one of many FTSE 100’s surest.

However the actual purpose I’d purchase M&G shares within the close to future is a reasonably easy one. That P/E’s solely round half the Footsie’s long-term common. And I feel it leaves a very good little bit of security margin.

And a 9.7% dividend yield means a modest lower, ought to it’s wanted, may nonetheless go away a lot for revenue.