SpartanNash (NASDAQ:SPTN) Will Pay A Dividend Of $0.215

SpartanNash Company (NASDAQ:SPTN) will pay a dividend of $0.215 on the 31st of March. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 3.1%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for SpartanNash

SpartanNash's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Before making this announcement, SpartanNash was paying out quite a large proportion of both earnings and cash flow, with the dividend being 225% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows certainly exposes the company to cutting the dividend if cash flows were to reduce.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 152.4%. Assuming the dividend continues along the course it has been charting recently, our estimates show the payout ratio being 36% which brings it into quite a comfortable range.

SpartanNash Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.32 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.84. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 10% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

Dividend Growth Could Be Constrained

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. We are encouraged to see that SpartanNash has grown earnings per share at 40% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing nicely, but the company is paying out most of its earnings as dividends. This might be sustainable, but we wonder why SpartanNash is not retaining those earnings to reinvest in growth.

In Summary

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 3 warning signs for SpartanNash that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. 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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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.