Yahoo Finance How Does CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) Fare As A Dividend Stock?
A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. Historically, CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) has paid a dividend to shareholders. It currently yields 2.8%. Let’s dig deeper into whether CIT Group should have a place in your portfolio.
See our latest analysis for CIT Group
5 checks you should use to assess a dividend stock
When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:
Does it pay an annual yield higher than 75% of dividend payers?
Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?
Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?
Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?
Does CIT Group pass our checks?
CIT Group has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 24%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a higher payout ratio of 26% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of 2.8%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to $4.79. The higher payout forecasted, along with higher earnings, should lead to greater dividend income for investors moving forward.
When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot.
If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock you’re eyeing out is reliable in its payments. Unfortunately, it is really too early to view CIT Group as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 5 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.
In terms of its peers, CIT Group generates a yield of 2.8%, which is high for Banks stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
Whilst there are few things you may like about CIT Group from a dividend stock perspective, the truth is that overall it probably is not the best choice for a dividend investor. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three pertinent aspects you should further research:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for CIT’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for CIT’s outlook.
Valuation: What is CIT worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether CIT is currently mispriced by the market.
Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
