The board of Diageo plc (LON:DGE) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of £0.4682 on the 20th of October, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 2.0%.

View our latest analysis for Diageo

Diageo's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Based on the last payment, Diageo 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.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 41.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 39%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Diageo Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The dividend has gone from an annual total of £0.404 in 2012 to the most recent total annual payment of £0.762. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 6.5% over that duration. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.

Diageo Could Grow Its Dividend

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Diageo has grown earnings per share at 5.7% per year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

Diageo 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. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Diageo that investors should take into consideration. Is Diageo 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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