Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of A$0.26

The board of Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX:ALL) has announced that it will pay a dividend of A$0.26 per share on the 16th of December. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 1.5%, which is a modest boost for shareholders' returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Aristocrat Leisure

Aristocrat Leisure's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. Before making this announcement, Aristocrat Leisure was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 46.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 26% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Dividend Volatility

The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from A$0.065 total annually to A$0.52. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 23% per annum over that time. Aristocrat Leisure has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, so we would be cautious about buying this stock solely for the dividend income.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

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. We are encouraged to see that Aristocrat Leisure has grown earnings per share at 13% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Aristocrat Leisure's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Aristocrat Leisure Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 15 analysts we track are forecasting for Aristocrat Leisure for free with public analyst estimates for the company. Is Aristocrat Leisure not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.

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