CI Financial (TSE:CIX) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of CA$0.18

The board of CI Financial Corp. (TSE:CIX) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 15th of October, with investors receiving CA$0.18 per share. This makes the dividend yield 3.2%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for CI Financial

CI Financial's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. However, prior to this announcement, CI Financial'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.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 23.4%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 23%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from CA$0.78 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of CA$0.72. Payments have been decreasing at a very slow pace in this time period. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

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. However, CI Financial has only grown its earnings per share at 3.7% per annum over the past five years. Earnings growth is slow, but on the plus side, the dividend payout ratio is low and dividends could grow faster than earnings, if the company decides to increase its payout ratio.

Our Thoughts On CI Financial's Dividend

Overall, we think CI Financial 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.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for CI Financial (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

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