Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKT.A) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of US$0.17

Ingles Markets, Incorporated's (NASDAQ:IMKT.A) investors are due to receive a payment of US$0.17 per share on 14th of October. This means the annual payment will be 1.0% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.

See our latest analysis for Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets' Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. However, prior to this announcement, Ingles Markets' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 34.9% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 3.9% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Ingles Markets Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The payments haven't really changed that much since 10 years ago. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Ingles Markets has grown earnings per share at 35% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

Ingles Markets Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Ingles Markets that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

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