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The board of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.39 on the 9th of January, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. Even though the dividend went up, the yield is still quite low at only 1.8%.
See our latest analysis for McCormick
McCormick's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings
Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. The last dividend was quite comfortably covered by McCormick's earnings, but it was a bit tighter on the cash flow front. By paying out so much of its cash flows, this could indicate that the company has limited opportunities for investment and growth.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 32.7%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 48% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
McCormick Has A Solid Track Record
The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.62 in 2012 to the most recent total annual payment of $1.56. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 9.7% over that duration. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.
The Dividend Has Growth Potential
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. It's encouraging to see that McCormick has been growing its earnings per share at 7.2% a year over the past five years. Since earnings per share is growing at an acceptable rate, and the payout policy is balanced, we think the company is positioning itself well to grow earnings and dividends in the future.
Our Thoughts On McCormick's Dividend
Overall, this is probably not a great income stock, even though the dividend is being raised at the moment. The company hasn't been paying a very consistent dividend over time, despite only paying out a small portion of earnings. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.
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. Just as an example, we've come across 3 warning signs for McCormick you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored. Is McCormick not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.