Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of US$0.39

Albemarle Corporation's (NYSE:ALB) investors are due to receive a payment of US$0.39 per share on 1st of October. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 0.8%, which is a modest boost for shareholders' returns.

View our latest analysis for Albemarle

Albemarle's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. Prior to this announcement, Albemarle's earnings easily covered the dividend, but free cash flows were negative. No cash flows could definitely make returning cash to shareholders difficult, or at least mean the balance sheet will come under pressure.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 11.6%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 44% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Albemarle Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$0.56, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$1.56. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Over the past five years, it looks as though Albemarle's EPS has declined at around 4.2% a year. A modest decline in earnings isn't great, and it makes it quite unlikely that the dividend will grow in the future unless that trend can be reversed. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern.

Our Thoughts On Albemarle's Dividend

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. With cash flows lacking, it is difficult to see how the company can sustain a dividend payment. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. 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 2 warning signs for Albemarle that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a solid dividend.

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