Exchange Income (TSE:EIF) Has Re-Affirmed Its Dividend Of CA$0.19

The board of Exchange Income Corporation (TSE:EIF) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CA$0.19 per share on the 14th of January. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 5.4%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Exchange Income

Exchange Income Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, the company's dividend was much higher than its earnings. This situation certainly isn't ideal, and could place significant strain on the balance sheet if it continues.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 58.2%. However, if the dividend continues growing along recent trends, it could start putting pressure on the balance sheet with the payout ratio reaching 118% over the next year.

Exchange Income Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The dividend has gone from CA$1.56 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of CA$2.28. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 3.9% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Come By

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. However, things aren't all that rosy. Exchange Income has seen earnings per share falling at 9.3% per year over the last five years. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this can turn into a longer term trend.

We'd also point out that Exchange Income has issued stock equal to 31% of shares outstanding. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective.

Exchange Income's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Exchange Income's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Just as an example, we've come across 4 warning signs for Exchange Income you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a solid dividend.

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