As a dividend investor, it pays to follow how much of a company's money goes toward funding its dividend. A nice yield now won't matter much if the company can't keep making those payments going forward.

Here, we'll highlight a given company and its closest competitors to see just how safe their dividends are, with a little help from three crucial tools:

  • The interest coverage ratio, or earnings before interest and taxes, divided by interest expense. The interest coverage ratio measures a company's ability to pay the interest on its debt. An interest coverage ratio less than 1.5 is questionable; a number less than 1 means that the company is not bringing in enough money to cover its interest expenses.
  • The EPS payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by earnings per share. The EPS payout ratio measures the percentage of earnings that go toward paying the dividend. A ratio greater than 80% is worrisome.
  • The FCF payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by free cash flow per share. Earnings alone don't always paint a complete picture of a business' health. The FCF payout ratio measures the percent of free cash flow devoted toward paying the dividend. Again, a ratio greater than 80% could be a red flag.

Each of these ratios reflect dividends paid in the trailing 12 months, while yields are the expected forward yield. Let's examine Lancaster Colony (Nasdaq: LANC) and three of its peers.

Company

Yield

Interest Coverage

EPS Payout Ratio

FCF Payout Ratio

Lancaster Colony

2.2%

N/A

35.3%

41.9%

Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB)

3.4%

10.8

46.5%

55.2%

HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ)

3.6%

6.0

58.8%

75.3%

ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG)

3.7%

7.9

47.5%

51.5%

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

Lancaster Colony does not have any debt, and as such it has no interest to cover. Given its EPS payout ratio and FCF payout ratio are below 45%, you shouldn't have to worry that Lancaster Colony will need to cut its dividend anytime soon.

Another tool for better investing
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