Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM) will pay a dividend of $0.30 on the 30th of May. This means that the annual payment will be 1.5% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, Columbia Sportswear's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 25.5%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 25% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from $0.44 total annually to $1.20. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11% a year over that time. It is great to see strong growth in the dividend payments, but cuts are concerning as it may indicate the payout policy is too ambitious.

The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited

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. Unfortunately, Columbia Sportswear's earnings per share has been essentially flat over the past five years, which means the dividend may not be increased each year.

In Summary

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Without at least some growth in earnings per share over time, the dividend will eventually come under pressure either from competition or inflation. See if the 10 analysts are forecasting a turnaround in our free collection of analyst estimates here. Is Columbia Sportswear 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.