Kainos Group plc's (LON:KNOS) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to ￡0.191 on 25th of October. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 2.2%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Kainos Group

Kainos Group's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Kainos Group's earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 44.8%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 35% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Kainos Group's Dividend Has Lacked Consistency

Even in its relatively short history, the company has reduced the dividend at least once. This suggests that the dividend might not be the most reliable. Since 2016, the dividend has gone from ￡0.036 total annually to ￡0.273. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 29% over that duration. Despite the rapid growth in the dividend over the past number of years, we have seen the payments go down the past as well, so that makes us cautious.

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 Kainos Group has grown earnings per share at 22% per year over the past five years. The company's earnings per share has grown rapidly in recent years, and it has a good balance between reinvesting and paying dividends to shareholders, so we think that Kainos Group could prove to be a strong dividend payer.

Kainos Group 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 of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend 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 Kainos Group that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Kainos Group not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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