Cranswick (LON:CWK) Has Announced A Dividend Of £0.227

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The board of Cranswick plc (LON:CWK) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 26th of January, with investors receiving £0.227 per share. This takes the annual payment to 2.1% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Cranswick

Cranswick's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. However, prior to this announcement, Cranswick's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 2.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 37%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Cranswick 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. The annual payment during the last 10 years was £0.30 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was £0.815. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year 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 could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Cranswick has grown earnings per share at 12% per year over the past five years. Cranswick definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.

We Really Like Cranswick's Dividend

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

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. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 9 Cranswick analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company. 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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