Chubb's (NYSE:CB) Dividend Will Be Increased To US$0.83

The board of Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 8th of July to US$0.83. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.5%, which is below the industry average.

Check out our latest analysis for Chubb

Chubb's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. However, prior to this announcement, Chubb's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

EPS is set to fall by 16.1% over the next 12 months. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 21%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

historic-dividend

Chubb Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from US$1.40 to US$3.32. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 9.0% over that duration. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.

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. Chubb has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 14% per annum. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

We Really Like Chubb's Dividend

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Chubb is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. 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. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Chubb that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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