Altus Group Limited (TSE:AIF) has announced that it will pay a dividend of CA$0.15 per share on the 15th of October. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 1.1%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Altus Group

Altus Group's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 936% of what it was earning, however the dividend was quite comfortably covered by free cash flows at a cash payout ratio of only 26%. Given that the dividend is a cash outflow, we think that cash is more important than accounting measures of profit when assessing the dividend, so this is a mitigating factor.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise exponentially over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate that the payout ratio could reach 48%, which is in a comfortable range for us.

Altus Group Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. There hasn't been much of a change in the dividend over the last 10 years. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think makes this a fairly attractive offer.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Altus Group's EPS has fallen by approximately 20% per year during the past five years. This steep decline can indicate that the business is going through a tough time, which could constrain its ability to pay a larger dividend each year in the future. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

In Summary

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, but we still think the dividend is a bit high for comfort. We don't think Altus Group is a great stock to add to your portfolio if income is your focus.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Altus Group (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about. 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.