Corus Entertainment (TSE:CJR.B) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of CA$0.06

Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSE:CJR.B) will pay a dividend of CA$0.06 on the 29th of September. This makes the dividend yield 6.7%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for Corus Entertainment

Corus Entertainment's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, Corus Entertainment was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Unless the company can turn things around, EPS could fall by 2.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 26%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of CA$0.87 in 2012 to the most recent total annual payment of CA$0.24. The dividend has fallen 72% over that period. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

Given that dividend payments have been shrinking like a glacier in a warming world, we need to check if there are some bright spots on the horizon. Corus Entertainment has seen earnings per share falling at 2.9% per year over the last five years. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth.

Our Thoughts On Corus Entertainment's Dividend

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Corus Entertainment's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. In the past, the payments have been unstable, but over the short term the dividend could be reliable, with the company generating enough cash to cover it. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Corus Entertainment (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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