Yahoo Finance Enbridge's (TSE:ENB) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year
Enbridge Inc.'s (TSE:ENB) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to CA$0.915 on 1st of March. This takes the dividend yield to 7.5%, which shareholders will be pleased with.
See our latest analysis for Enbridge
Enbridge Doesn't Earn Enough To Cover Its Payments
If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 235% of what it was earning and 83% of cash flows. This indicates that the company could be more focused on returning cash to shareholders than reinvesting to grow the business.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 74.2%. However, if the dividend continues along recent trends, it could start putting pressure on the balance sheet with the payout ratio reaching 158% over the next year.
Enbridge Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The dividend has gone from an annual total of CA$1.26 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of CA$3.55. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 11% per annum over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.
There Isn't Much Room To Grow The Dividend
Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Enbridge has impressed us by growing EPS at 8.1% per year over the past five years. However, the company isn't reinvesting a lot back into the business, so we would expect the growth rate to slow down somewhat in the future.
Our Thoughts On Enbridge's Dividend
Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. In the past the payments have been stable, but we think the company is paying out too much for this to continue for the long term. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.
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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Enbridge (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about. 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.
