MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Accordingly, MGP Ingredients investors that purchase the stock on or after the 18th of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 3rd of December.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.12 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.48 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, MGP Ingredients has a trailing yield of approximately 0.7% on its current stock price of $73.5. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Check out our latest analysis for MGP Ingredients

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. MGP Ingredients paid out just 13% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. It paid out 18% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

It's positive to see that MGP Ingredients's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, MGP Ingredients's earnings per share have been growing at 17% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, MGP Ingredients has increased its dividend at approximately 25% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

The Bottom Line

Has MGP Ingredients got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? MGP Ingredients has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. There's a lot to like about MGP Ingredients, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

While it's tempting to invest in MGP Ingredients for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs for MGP Ingredients that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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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