Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At US$0.44

Jack in the Box Inc.'s (NASDAQ:JACK) dividend will be increasing to US$0.44 on 23rd of December. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 1.9%.

See our latest analysis for Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. However, prior to this announcement, Jack in the Box's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 7.9%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 25%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Jack in the Box's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Looking back, Jack in the Box's dividend hasn't been particularly consistent. Due to this, we are a little bit cautious about the dividend consistency over a full economic cycle. The dividend has gone from US$0.80 in 2013 to the most recent annual payment of US$1.76. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 10% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Jack in the Box has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 20% per annum. Earnings have been growing rapidly, and with a low payout ratio we think that the company could turn out to be a great dividend stock.

We Really Like Jack in the Box's Dividend

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've identified 3 warning signs for Jack in the Box (2 are concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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.

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