AltaGas' (TSE:ALA) Dividend Will Be Increased To CA$0.2975

The board of AltaGas Ltd. (TSE:ALA) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of CA$0.2975 on the 29th of March, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 4.1% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for AltaGas

AltaGas' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. Prior to this announcement, AltaGas' earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. In general, we consider cash flow to be more important than earnings, so we would be cautious about relying on the sustainability of this dividend.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 9.7%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 48% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was CA$1.44, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CA$1.12. Doing the maths, this is a decline of about 2.5% per year. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. AltaGas has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 22% per annum. AltaGas is clearly able to grow rapidly while still returning cash to shareholders, positioning it to become a strong dividend payer in the future.

In Summary

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think AltaGas' payments are rock solid. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. To that end, AltaGas has 4 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think 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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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.