Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Will Pay A Dividend Of US$0.20

Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS) will pay a dividend of US$0.20 on the 8th of July. This makes the dividend yield 2.7%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

Check out our latest analysis for Flowserve

Flowserve's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Before making this announcement, the company's dividend was higher than its profits, and made up 81% of cash flows. This indicates that the company could be more focused on returning cash to shareholders than reinvesting to grow the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 107.3% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 53%, which would make us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend, despite the levels currently being quite high.

Flowserve Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$0.43 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$0.80. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 6.5% over that duration. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Over the past five years, it looks as though Flowserve's EPS has declined at around 4.0% a year. Declining earnings will inevitably lead to the company paying a lower dividend in line with lower profits. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

Flowserve's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Flowserve's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. We don't think Flowserve is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Flowserve that investors should take into consideration. Is Flowserve not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.