In This Article:
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE:EXPD) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 16th of June to $0.77. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.4%, which is below the industry average.
Expeditors International of Washington's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage
While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. However, prior to this announcement, Expeditors International of Washington'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.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 2.5%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 26% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
View our latest analysis for Expeditors International of Washington
Expeditors International of Washington Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.64 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $1.54. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 9.2% per annum 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.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Expeditors International of Washington has impressed us by growing EPS at 13% per 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.
We Really Like Expeditors International of Washington's Dividend
Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Expeditors International of Washington is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. 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 of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.