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La-Z-Boy's (NYSE:LZB) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

La-Z-Boy Incorporated's (NYSE:LZB) periodic dividend will be increasing on the 20th of December to $0.1815, with investors receiving 10.0% more than last year's $0.165. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 2.7%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

View our latest analysis for La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. Prior to this announcement, La-Z-Boy's dividend was only 17% of earnings, however it was paying out 263% of free cash flows. A cash payout ratio this high could put the dividend under pressure and force the company to reduce it in the future if it were to run into tough times.

EPS is set to fall by 26.9% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 25%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

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Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.16 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.66. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15% a year over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

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. La-Z-Boy has impressed us by growing EPS at 18% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for La-Z-Boy's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Our Thoughts On La-Z-Boy's Dividend

In summary, while it's always good to see the dividend being raised, we don't think La-Z-Boy's payments are rock solid. While the low payout ratio is a redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Just as an example, we've come across 3 warning signs for La-Z-Boy you should be aware of, and 2 of them are significant. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection 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.

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