The board of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 12th of December, with investors receiving $0.28 per share. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 1.3%, which is fairly typical for the industry.
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 Corning's stock price has increased by 56% in the last 3 months, which is good for shareholders and can also explain a decrease in the dividend yield.
Corning's Projected Earnings Seem Likely To Cover Future Distributions
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Based on the last payment, the dividend made up 80% of cash flows, but a higher proportion of net income. This indicates that the company could be more focused on returning cash to shareholders than reinvesting to grow the business.
Analysts expect a massive rise in earnings per share in the next year. If recent patterns in the dividend continue, we could see the payout ratio reaching 41% which is fairly sustainable.
See our latest analysis for Corning
Corning Has A Solid Track Record
The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was $0.48, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $1.12. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.8% over that duration. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.
Dividend Growth Could Be Constrained
Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. We are encouraged to see that Corning has grown earnings per share at 48% per year over the past five years. Strong earnings is nice to see, but unless this can be sustained on minimal reinvestment of profits, we would question whether dividends will follow suit.
Our Thoughts On Corning'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. Although they have been consistent in the past, we think the payments are a little high to be sustained. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Corning that investors should take into consideration. 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.