Citigroup (NYSE:C) Will Pay A Dividend Of US$0.51

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

The board of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 25th of February, with investors receiving US$0.51 per share. This makes the dividend yield 3.0%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.

View our latest analysis for Citigroup

Citigroup's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. However, Citigroup's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 27.2% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 34%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Citigroup Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$0.04 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$2.04. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 48% a year 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.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. It's encouraging to see Citigroup has been growing its earnings per share at 18% a year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

Citigroup 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. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. 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. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Just as an example, we've come across 2 warning signs for Citigroup you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.