The board of The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 3rd of October, with investors receiving $0.12 per share. This payment means that the dividend yield will be 2.3%, which is around the industry average.
While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. The last payment made up 75% of earnings, but cash flows were much higher. In general, cash flows are more important than earnings, so we are comfortable that the dividend will be sustainable going forward, especially with so much cash left over for reinvestment.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 48.7% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 56% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Check out our latest analysis for Hackett Group
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from $0.14 total annually to $0.48. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 13% over that duration. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time.
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Hackett Group has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 11% per annum. Past earnings growth has been decent, but unless this is one of those rare businesses that can grow without additional capital investment or marketing spend, we'd generally expect the higher payout ratio to limit its future growth prospects.
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 company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an 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. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Hackett Group that investors should take into consideration. Is Hackett Group 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.