Intact Financial (TSE:IFC) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

Intact Financial Corporation (TSE:IFC) will increase its dividend on the 29th of March to CA$1.21, which is 10.0% higher than last year’s payment from the same period of CA$1.10. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.9%, which is below the industry average.

Check out our latest analysis for Intact Financial

Intact Financial’s Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. The last payment made up 73% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. Since the dividend is just paying out cash to shareholders, we care more about the cash payout ratio from which we can see plenty is being left over for reinvestment in the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 157.4%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 33% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Intact Financial Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$1.76 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$4.40. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.6% a year over that time. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Earnings per share has been crawling upwards at 4.3% per year. Earnings are not growing quickly at all, and the company is paying out most of its profit as dividends. When a company prefers to pay out cash to its shareholders instead of reinvesting it, this can often say a lot about that company’s dividend prospects.

Intact Financial Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

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. For instance, we’ve picked out 2 warning signs for Intact Financial that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.