Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $0.075

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.075 per share on the 19th of November. The dividend yield is 2.0% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

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Genie Energy's Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Before making this announcement, Genie Energy's dividend was higher than its profits, but the free cash flows quite comfortably covered it. Healthy cash flows are always a positive sign, especially when they quite easily cover the dividend.

EPS is set to grow by 36.4% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, our estimates say the payout ratio could reach 82% - on the higher side, but we wouldn't necessarily say this is unsustainable.

Check out our latest analysis for Genie Energy

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.24 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.30. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 2.3% 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 Has Limited Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Over the past five years, it looks as though Genie Energy's EPS has declined at around 11% a year. Such rapid declines definitely have the potential to constrain dividend payments if the trend continues into the future. On the bright side, earnings are predicted to gain some ground over the next year, but until this turns into a pattern we wouldn't be feeling too comfortable.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. We would be a touch cautious of relying on this stock primarily for the dividend income.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Genie Energy 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.