Greggs (LON:GRG) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of £0.19

Greggs plc (LON:GRG) will pay a dividend of £0.19 on the 4th of October. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 2.0%.

View our latest analysis for Greggs

Greggs' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time. Based on the last payment, Greggs was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 28.4% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 67% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from £0.195 total annually to £0.62. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Greggs has impressed us by growing EPS at 12% per year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

We Really Like Greggs' Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Greggs that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.