Citigroup (NYSE:C) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of US$0.51

The board of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 24th of November, with investors receiving US$0.51 per share. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 2.9%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Citigroup

Citigroup'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, Citigroup was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 19.0% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 31%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Citigroup Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$0.04, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$2.04. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 48% over that duration. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. It's encouraging to see Citigroup has been growing its earnings per share at 19% a year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Citigroup's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Citigroup Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Citigroup (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a solid dividend.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.