Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Is Increasing Its Dividend To US$0.51

The board of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend on the 18th of January to US$0.51. This takes the annual payment to 0.9% of the current stock price, which unfortunately is below what the industry is paying.

See our latest analysis for Ecolab

Ecolab's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Prior to this announcement, Ecolab's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 36.2%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 39%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Ecolab Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The dividend has gone from US$0.70 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of US$2.04. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 11% per annum over that time. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Ecolab hasn't seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years. Growth of 1.5% per annum is not particularly high, which might explain why the company is paying out a higher proportion of earnings. This could mean the dividend doesn't have the growth potential we look for going into the future.

Ecolab Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. 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 Ecolab 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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