Yahoo Finance GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At AU$0.24
GrainCorp Limited (ASX:GNC) will increase its dividend on the 21st of July to AU$0.24. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 3.5%.
See our latest analysis for GrainCorp
GrainCorp's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Based on the last payment, GrainCorp was paying only paying out a fraction of earnings, but the payment was a massive 321% of cash flows. The business might be trying to strike a balance between returning cash to shareholders and reinvesting back into the business, but this high of a payout ratio could definitely force the dividend to be cut if the company runs into a bit of a tough spot.
EPS is set to fall by 18.6% over the next 12 months. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 29%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.
Dividend Volatility
The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least 1 cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from AU$0.55 in 2012 to the most recent annual payment of AU$0.24. This works out to be a decline of approximately 8.0% per year over that time. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
Given that the track record hasn't been stellar, we really want to see earnings per share growing over time. GrainCorp has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 27% per annum. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.
Our Thoughts On GrainCorp's Dividend
Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. While the low payout ratio is redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for GrainCorp that investors should take into consideration. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
