The board of Medibank Private Limited (ASX:MPL) has announced that it will pay a dividend of A$0.078 per share on the 26th of March. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 3.7%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Medibank Private

Medibank Private's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Prior to this announcement, the company was paying out 97% of what it was earning and 85% of cash flows. While the cash payout ratio isn't necessarily a cause for concern, the company is probably focusing more on returning cash to shareholders than growing the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 40.8% over the next year. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 74% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

Medibank Private Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was A$0.053 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was A$0.166. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 12% per annum over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. However, Medibank Private has only grown its earnings per share at 3.0% per annum over the past five years. So the company has struggled to grow its EPS yet it's still paying out 97% of its earnings. 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, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think Medibank Private will make a great income stock. We can't deny that the payments have been very stable, but we are a little bit worried about the very high payout ratio. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

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. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Medibank Private 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.