Lowe's Companies' (NYSE:LOW) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 3rd of August to US$1.05. Based on the announced payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 1.9%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Lowe's Companies

Lowe's Companies' Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. However, Lowe's Companies' earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 12.1% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 27% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

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Lowe's Companies Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from US$0.56 to US$4.20. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 22% per annum over that time. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Lowe's Companies has impressed us by growing EPS at 33% per year over the past five years. 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.

Lowe's Companies Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Lowe's Companies (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing. 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.