MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $1.38

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) will increase its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 28th of February to $1.38. Despite this raise, the dividend yield of 1.0% is only a modest boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for MSCI

MSCI's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. The last dividend was quite easily covered by MSCI's earnings. This means that a large portion of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 54.5%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 36% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

MSCI Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

MSCI'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 2015, the dividend has gone from $0.72 total annually to $5.52. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 29% per annum over that time. It is always nice to see strong dividend growth, but with such a short payment history we wouldn't be inclined to rely on it until a longer track record can be developed.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. It's encouraging to see that MSCI has been growing its earnings per share at 26% a year over the past five years. The company doesn't have any problems growing, despite returning a lot of capital to shareholders, which is a very nice combination for a dividend stock to have.

MSCI Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

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 example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for MSCI that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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