Does Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM) Have A Place In Your Portfolio?

Dividends can be underrated but they form a large part of investment returns, playing an important role in compounding returns in the long run. Historically, Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM) has paid a dividend to shareholders. It currently yields 1.9%. Does Graham tick all the boxes of a great dividend stock? Below, I'll take you through my analysis.

Check out our latest analysis for Graham

5 questions I ask before picking a dividend stock

When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:

• Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?
• Has it consistently paid a stable dividend without missing a payment or drastically cutting payout?
• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
• Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?

How well does Graham fit our criteria?

The company currently pays out 73% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.

When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. GHM has increased its DPS from $0.080 to $0.40 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. This is an impressive feat, which makes GHM a true dividend rockstar.

Compared to its peers, Graham has a yield of 1.9%, which is on the low-side for Machinery stocks.

Next Steps:

With this in mind, I definitely rank Graham as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. Below, I've compiled three relevant factors you should look at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GHM’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for GHM’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GHM worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether GHM is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.