Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $1.30
The board of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $1.30 per share on the 8th of November. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 5.6%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.
Check out our latest analysis for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. At the time of the last dividend payment, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was paying out a very large proportion of what it was earning and 108% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows certainly exposes the company to cutting the dividend if cash flows were to reduce.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 43.2%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 57%, which would make us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend, despite the levels currently being quite high.
Dividend Volatility
While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $1.00 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $5.20. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 18% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Come By
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has seen earnings per share falling at 6.7% per year over the last five years. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable
Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. The track record isn't great, and the payments are a bit high to be considered sustainable. We don't think Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. 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 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (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.
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