Lewis’s share price has taken a hefty knock from the dizzy heights at which it traded just 16 months ago; it was flirting with R100 in June 2015. For most of 2016, it has been stuck between R40 and R50, with R40 marking a rather resilient base line. The household-goods retailer’s shareholders certainly seem to have taken last week’s grim trading update in their stride. There was a bit of a wobble followed by a bit of a recovery, before it settled at about R40. This wasn’t at all bad, given management’s warning that earnings could fall as much as 45%. Lewis seems to be primarily a dividend play and has attracted strong support from international investors, who make up about 60% of its shareholders. The only significant domestic shareholders are the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), with 9% and Allan Gray, with 5%. At the current price, the share is on an extremely attractive dividend yield of 12.37%. If shareholders thought the generous dividend payments could be sustained (or at ...
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