Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB) Has Announced A Dividend Of CA$0.40

Laurentian Bank of Canada's (TSE:LB) investors are due to receive a payment of CA$0.40 per share on 1st of November. This means the dividend yield will be fairly typical at 3.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for Laurentian Bank of Canada

Laurentian Bank of Canada's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. However, Laurentian Bank of Canada's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 1.7%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 37%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least 1 cut in the last 10 years. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was CA$1.56 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$1.60. Dividend payments have grown at less than 1% a year over this period. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Earnings has been rising at 4.0% per annum over the last five years, which admittedly is a bit slow. While EPS growth is quite low, Laurentian Bank of Canada has the option to increase the payout ratio to return more cash to shareholders.

In Summary

Overall, we think Laurentian Bank of Canada is a solid choice as a dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't raised this year. The payout ratio looks good, but unfortunately the company's dividend track record isn't stellar. 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.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 Laurentian Bank of Canada that investors should take into consideration. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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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.
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