Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.33

Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:GBCI) will pay a dividend of $0.33 on the 18th of April. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 3.3%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Glacier Bancorp

Glacier Bancorp's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Glacier Bancorp has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Based on Glacier Bancorp's last earnings report, the payout ratio is at a decent 66%, meaning that the company is able to pay out its dividend with a bit of room to spare.

Looking forward, EPS is forecast to rise by 29.8% over the next 3 years. Analysts estimate the future payout ratio will be 56% over the same time period, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

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 annual payment back then was $0.60, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $1.32. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 8.2% per annum 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.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. In the last five years, Glacier Bancorp's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.0% per annum. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.

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 company hasn't been paying a very consistent dividend over time, despite only paying out a small portion of earnings. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

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. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Glacier Bancorp that investors should take into consideration. 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.