Martinrea International (TSE:MRE) Will Pay A Dividend Of CA$0.05

Martinrea International Inc.'s (TSE:MRE) investors are due to receive a payment of CA$0.05 per share on 15th of January. This means the annual payment will be 1.6% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.

Check out the opportunities and risks within the CA Auto Components industry.

Martinrea International's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If it is predictable over a long period, even low dividend yields can be attractive. However, prior to this announcement, Martinrea International's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 44.6% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 16%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Martinrea International 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 annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$0.12 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$0.20. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 5.2% per annum 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.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. However, initial appearances might be deceiving. Martinrea International's EPS has fallen by approximately 12% per year during the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. Over the next year, however, earnings are actually predicted to rise, but we would still be cautious until a track record of earnings growth can be built.

In Summary

Overall, we think Martinrea International is a solid choice as a dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't raised this year. The earnings coverage is acceptable for now, but with earnings on the decline we would definitely keep an eye on the payout ratio. Taking all of this into consideration, the dividend looks viable moving forward, but investors should be mindful that the company has pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the past and may do so again.

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 instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Martinrea International that investors should take into consideration. Is Martinrea International not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.