Yahoo Finance Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year
The board of Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF.B) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.2055 on the 3rd of January, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. Despite this raise, the dividend yield of 1.1% is only a modest boost to shareholder returns.
View our latest analysis for Brown-Forman
Brown-Forman's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions
The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. However, prior to this announcement, Brown-Forman's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 34.6% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 32%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.
Brown-Forman Has A Solid Track Record
The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.373 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.754. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.3% a year over that time. Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate over this period, and without any major cuts in the payment over time, we think this is an attractive combination as it provides a nice boost to shareholder returns.
We Could See Brown-Forman's Dividend Growing
Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. It's encouraging to see that Brown-Forman has been growing its earnings per share at 5.1% a year over the past five years. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.
Brown-Forman Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock
Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. 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.
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 1 warning sign for Brown-Forman that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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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