The board of Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX:YAL) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of A$0.52 on the 30th of April, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 8.8%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Yancoal Australia

Yancoal Australia's Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Prior to this announcement, Yancoal Australia's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that a large portion of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

If the trend of the last few years continues, EPS will grow by 11.1% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 61%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Yancoal Australia's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Even in its relatively short history, the company has reduced the dividend at least once. This makes us cautious about the consistency of the dividend over a full economic cycle. Since 2018, the dividend has gone from A$0.207 total annually to A$0.52. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 14% a year over that time. Yancoal Australia has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, so we would be cautious about buying this stock solely for the dividend income.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. We are encouraged to see that Yancoal Australia has grown earnings per share at 11% per year over the past five years. Shareholders are getting plenty of the earnings returned to them, which combined with strong growth makes this quite appealing.

Yancoal Australia Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. 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.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Yancoal Australia that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. 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.