McGrath (ASX:MEA) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of A$0.01
The board of McGrath Limited (ASX:MEA) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 20th of September, with investors receiving A$0.01 per share. This means the annual payment is 4.3% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.
View our latest analysis for McGrath
McGrath's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. However, McGrath's 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 could rise by 15.2% over the next year if the trend from the last few years continues. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 35% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
McGrath's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency
Even in its relatively short history, the company has reduced the dividend at least once. Due to this, we are a little bit cautious about the dividend consistency over a full economic cycle. The annual payment during the last 6 years was A$0.035 in 2016, and the most recent fiscal year payment was A$0.02. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 8.9% per year. Declining dividends isn't generally what we look for as they can indicate that the company is running into some challenges.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS is growing. We are encouraged to see that McGrath has grown earnings per share at 15% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.
McGrath Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock
Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think McGrath might even raise payments in the future. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 3 warning signs for McGrath that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is McGrath not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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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