Kelsian Group Limited's (ASX:KLS) investors are due to receive a payment of A$0.08 per share on 23rd of April. The dividend yield will be 5.6% based on this payment which is still above the industry average.

Check out our latest analysis for Kelsian Group

Kelsian Group's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 97% of what it was earning. It will be difficult to sustain this level of payout so we wouldn't be confident about this continuing.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 55.3%. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 65% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from A$0.074 total annually to A$0.175. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 9.0% per annum over that time. It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Kelsian Group might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.

Kelsian Group May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

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. Earnings per share has been crawling upwards at 3.3% per year. The earnings growth is anaemic, and the company is paying out 97% of its profit. As they say in finance, 'past performance is not indicative of future performance', but we are not confident a company with limited earnings growth and a high payout ratio will be a star dividend-payer over the next decade.

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 payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn't the best. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

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. As an example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Kelsian Group that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.