Utah Medical Products (NASDAQ:UTMD) Has Announced A Dividend Of US$0.28
The board of Utah Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTMD) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.28 per share on the 5th of October. This makes the dividend yield 1.3%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.
View our latest analysis for Utah Medical Products
Utah Medical Products' Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. However, Utah Medical Products' earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.
If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 0.7% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 33% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
Utah Medical Products Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$0.94, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$1.14. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.9% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.
Utah Medical Products May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend
Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. However, Utah Medical Products' EPS was effectively flat over the past five years, which could stop the company from paying more every year. Earnings growth is slow, but on the plus side, the dividend payout ratio is low and dividends could grow faster than earnings, if the company decides to increase its payout ratio.
We Really Like Utah Medical Products' Dividend
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.
Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. See if management have their own wealth at stake, by checking insider shareholdings in Utah Medical Products stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.
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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