Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTN.A) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.2897
The board of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTN.A) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.2897 on the 24th of November, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 2.8% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.
Check out our latest analysis for Artesian Resources
Artesian Resources' Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions
While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. Before making this announcement, Artesian Resources was paying out a fairly large proportion of earnings, and it wasn't generating positive free cash flows either. This is a pretty unsustainable practice, and could be risky if continued for the long term.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 19.7% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 65% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Artesian Resources Has A Solid Track Record
The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $0.811 total annually to $1.14. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 3.4% per annum over that time. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think makes this a fairly attractive offer.
Artesian Resources May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend
Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. However, things aren't all that rosy. Although it's important to note that Artesian Resources' earnings per share has basically not grown from where it was five years ago, which could erode the purchasing power of the dividend over time.
In Summary
Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Artesian Resources (1 can't be ignored!) 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.
