HP (NYSE:HPQ) Has Announced That It Will Be Increasing Its Dividend To $0.2625

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 4th of January to $0.2625. This takes the dividend yield to 3.5%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

Check out our latest analysis for HP

HP's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. However, prior to this announcement, HP's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 8.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 37%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the annual payment back then was $0.48, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $1.05. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 8.1% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. We are encouraged to see that HP 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 HP's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

HP Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that HP is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for HP (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield 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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