Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.85

Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 30th of December to $0.85, which will be 6.3% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of $0.80. Although the dividend is now higher, the yield is only 1.5%, which is below the industry average.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. Investors will be pleased to see that Lancaster Colony's stock price has increased by 41% in the last 3 months, which is good for shareholders and can also explain a decrease in the dividend yield.

Our analysis indicates that LANC is potentially overvalued!

Lancaster Colony's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Prior to this announcement, Lancaster Colony's dividend was making up a very large proportion of earnings and perhaps more concerning was that it was 320% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows can expose the business to needing to cut the dividend if the business runs into some challenges.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 33.3%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, our estimates say the payout ratio could reach 75% - on the higher side, but we wouldn't necessarily say this is unsustainable.

Lancaster Colony Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from $1.44 total annually to $3.20. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.3% over that duration. Dividends have grown at a reasonable rate over this period, and without any major cuts in the payment over time, we think this is an attractive combination as it provides a nice boost to shareholder returns.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. In the last five years, Lancaster Colony's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.9% per annum. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. Earnings are predicted to grow over the next year, but we would remain cautious until a track record of earnings growth is established.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think Lancaster Colony's payments are rock solid. In the past the payments have been stable, but we think the company is paying out too much for this to continue for the long term. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Lancaster Colony (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. 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.