Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) Has Announced A Dividend Of $0.33

Glacier Bancorp, Inc.'s (NYSE:GBCI) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.33 per share on 17th of April. This means that the annual payment will be 3.0% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

Glacier Bancorp's Earnings Will Easily Cover The Distributions

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time.

Glacier Bancorp has established itself as a dividend paying company with over 10 years history of distributing earnings to shareholders. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 79%, which means that Glacier Bancorp would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.

The next 3 years are set to see EPS grow by 116.3%. Analyst estimates also show the future payout ratio being 44% in the same 3 years which brings it into quite a comfortable range.

See our latest analysis for Glacier Bancorp

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.68 in 2015 to the most recent total annual payment of $1.32. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 6.9% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's not great to see that Glacier Bancorp's earnings per share has fallen at approximately 6.8% per year over the past 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. 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.

In Summary

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Glacier Bancorp's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn't the best. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic 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 Glacier Bancorp 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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