Guess? (NYSE:GES) Has Announced A Dividend Of $0.30

Guess?, Inc.'s (NYSE:GES) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.30 per share on 27th of September. This means the annual payment is 5.8% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Guess?

Guess? Is Paying Out More Than It Is Earning

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. However, prior to this announcement, Guess?'s dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

EPS is set to fall by 12.6% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, the payout ratio in 12 months could be 123%, which is definitely a bit high to be sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the annual payment back then was $0.80, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $1.20. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 4.1% over that duration. The dividend has seen some fluctuations in the past, so even though the dividend was raised this year, we should remember that it has been cut in the past.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Guess? has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 80% per annum. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggest this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future.

We Really Like Guess?'s Dividend

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Guess? that investors should take into consideration. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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