Yahoo Finance George Weston's (TSE:WN) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's
George Weston Limited's (TSE:WN) dividend will be increasing to CA$0.60 on 1st of October. This takes the dividend yield to 1.7%, which shareholders will be pleased with.
Check out our latest analysis for George Weston
George Weston's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Based on the last payment, George Weston was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 59.1% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 35% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
George Weston Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$1.44 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$2.40. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 5.2% per annum over that time. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.
George Weston May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. However, George Weston has only grown its earnings per share at 4.0% per annum over the past five years. Growth of 4.0% may indicate that the company has limited investment opportunity so it is returning its earnings to shareholders instead. This could mean the dividend doesn't have the growth potential we look for going into the future.
George Weston Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock
In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. 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. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. As an example, we've identified 2 warning signs for George Weston 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 performing dividend stock.
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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