Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.41

The board of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.41 on the 30th of May, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This takes the annual payment to 2.2% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Oshkosh

Oshkosh's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. Oshkosh is quite easily earning enough to cover the dividend, however it is being let down by weak cash flows. With the company not bringing in any cash, paying out to shareholders is bound to become difficult at some point.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 129.5% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 19%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Oshkosh Is Still Building Its Track Record

Oshkosh's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was $0.60, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $1.64. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 12% per annum over that time. The dividend has been growing rapidly, however with such a short payment history we can't know for sure if payment can continue to grow over the long term, so caution may be warranted.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Come By

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Unfortunately things aren't as good as they seem. Oshkosh has seen earnings per share falling at 5.0% per year over the last 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.

Oshkosh's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Oshkosh's payments are rock solid. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. We don't think Oshkosh is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 Oshkosh that investors should take into consideration. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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