K-Bro Linen's (TSE:KBL) Dividend Will Be CA$0.10

The board of K-Bro Linen Inc. (TSE:KBL) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CA$0.10 per share on the 15th of December. This means the annual payment is 3.6% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for K-Bro Linen

K-Bro Linen's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Prior to this announcement, K-Bro Linen's dividend made up quite a large proportion of earnings but only 55% of free cash flows. 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.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 147.1% over the next year. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 35% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

K-Bro Linen 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$1.15 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was CA$1.20. Dividend payments have grown at less than 1% a year over this period. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.

Dividend Growth Could Be Constrained

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. We are encouraged to see that K-Bro Linen has grown earnings per share at 28% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing nicely, but the company is paying out most of its earnings as dividends. This might be sustainable, but we wonder why K-Bro Linen is not retaining those earnings to reinvest in growth.

Our Thoughts On K-Bro Linen's Dividend

Overall, a consistent dividend is a good thing, and we think that K-Bro Linen has the ability to continue this into the future. The payments look pretty sustainable with good earnings coverage and a reasonable track record. The dividend looks okay, but there have been some issues in the past, so we would be a little bit cautious.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for K-Bro Linen that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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