Inghams Group Limited (ASX:ING) has announced that it will pay a dividend of A$0.11 per share on the 4th of April. The yield is still above the industry average at 5.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for Inghams Group

Inghams Group's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Before this announcement, Inghams Group was paying out 79% of earnings, but a comparatively small 25% of free cash flows. Since the dividend is just paying out cash to shareholders, we care more about the cash payout ratio from which we can see plenty is being left over for reinvestment in the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 38.4% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 59%, which would make us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend, despite the levels currently being quite high.

Inghams Group's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Looking back, Inghams Group's dividend hasn't been particularly consistent. If the company cuts once, it definitely isn't argument against the possibility of it cutting in the future. Since 2017, the annual payment back then was A$0.052, compared to the most recent full-year payment of A$0.20. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 18% a year over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

We Could See Inghams Group's Dividend Growing

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. Inghams Group has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 5.7% per annum. EPS has been growing at a reasonable rate, although with most of the profits being paid out to shareholders, growth prospects could be more limited in the future.

Our Thoughts On Inghams Group's Dividend

In summary, dividends being cut isn't ideal, however it can bring the payment into a more sustainable range. 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.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Inghams Group (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing. 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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