The board of Arrow Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:AROW) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.26 per share on the 15th of September. This means that the annual payment will be 2.9% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Arrow Financial

Arrow Financial's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. However, Arrow Financial's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 3.3% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 34%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

Arrow Financial Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2011, the dividend has gone from US$0.77 to US$1.04. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.0% over that duration. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. We are encouraged to see that Arrow Financial has grown earnings per share at 14% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

We Really Like Arrow Financial's Dividend

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Arrow Financial might even raise payments in the future. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for Arrow Financial that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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