Aflac Incorporated's (NYSE:AFL) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to $0.58 on 3rd of March. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 2.3%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.
See our latest analysis for Aflac
While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. However, Aflac's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.
The next year is set to see EPS grow by 12.0%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 30% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from $0.74 total annually to $2.32. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.
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 Aflac has been growing its earnings per share at 11% 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.
In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. 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. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. 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 Aflac that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Aflac not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.