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Gray Television, Inc.'s (NYSE:GTN) investors are due to receive a payment of US$0.08 per share on 30th of June. This payment means the dividend yield will be 1.7%, which is below the average for the industry.
Check out our latest analysis for Gray Television
Gray Television's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. Based on the last payment, Gray Television was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.
According to analysts, EPS should be several times higher next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio will be 6.3%, which makes us pretty comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.
Gray Television Doesn't Have A Long Payment History
Without a track record of dividend payments, we can't make a judgement on how stable it has been. This doesn't mean that the company can't pay a good dividend, but just that we want to wait until it can prove itself.
Dividend Growth Is Doubtful
The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. It's not great to see that Gray Television's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 6.2% per year over the past five years. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.
In Summary
In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Gray Television's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. To that end, Gray Television has 5 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think 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.