The board of China Feihe Limited (HKG:6186) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 16th of June, with investors receiving CN¥0.1632 per share. This takes the annual payment to 5.6% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

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China Feihe's Projected Earnings Seem Likely To Cover Future Distributions

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. The last payment made up 78% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. This leaves plenty of cash for reinvestment into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 25.5%. Assuming the dividend continues along the course it has been charting recently, our estimates show the payout ratio being 66% which brings it into quite a comfortable range.

See our latest analysis for China Feihe

China Feihe Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

China Feihe's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. Since 2020, the dividend has gone from CN¥0.174 total annually to CN¥0.305. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. We're not overly excited about the relatively short history of dividend payments, however the dividend is growing at a nice rate and we might take a closer look.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Unfortunately things aren't as good as they seem. In the last five years, China Feihe's earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 4.0% per annum. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. 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, we always like to see the dividend being raised, but we don't think China Feihe will make a great income stock. The company is generating plenty of cash, which could maintain the dividend for a while, but the track record hasn't been great. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Without at least some growth in earnings per share over time, the dividend will eventually come under pressure either from competition or inflation. See if the 18 analysts are forecasting a turnaround in our free collection of analyst estimates here. Is China Feihe not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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