Why Federal Agricultural Mortgage scores well in the hunt for dividend income

2020 has been a year of turmoil for stock market investors, with market volatility wiping out recent price gains. Fortunately, the dividends on offer from shares like Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYQ:AGM) offer a potentially better bet in the hunt for sustainable income whatever the economic weather.

With so much uncertainty around the sustainability of some dividends, it's understandable that investors are searching for the best payouts available. Part of the challenge is that shares on attractively high yields are turning out to be a mirage in many cases. Dividend cuts have swept through the market. The pain for investors is real. So what should you be looking for in the search for sustainable dividend income?

Here's a checklist of measures and a summary of why Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend scores well against them...

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1. High (but not excessive) dividend yield

Yield is an important dividend metric because it tells you the percentage of how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. That makes it easy to compare dividend payouts right across the market.

High yields are obviously appealing but be careful of excessively high yields (usually above 10%) because they can be a sign of problems. When the market suspects a company may be unable to sustain its dividend, the share price will fall and actually push the yield higher - and this can be a trap. So it pays to be wary of excessive yields.

• Federal Agricultural Mortgage has a dividend yield of 4.89%.

2. Dividend growth

Another important marker for income investors is a track record of dividend growth - and evidence that the growth will continue. Consistent dividend growth can be a pointer to companies that are carefully managing their payout policies - and rewarding their shareholders over time. Rather than aggressively dishing out earnings, dividend growth companies tend to have more modest yields, but are better at sustaining their payouts.

• Federal Agricultural Mortgage has increased its dividend payout 8 times over the past 10 years - and the dividend per share is forecast to grow by 10.00% in the coming year.

3. Dividend safety

Attractively high yields obviously turn heads - but it’s important to know that a dividend is affordable. Dividend Cover (similar to the payout ratio) is a go-to measure of a company's net income over the dividend paid to shareholders. It’s calculated as earnings per share divided by the dividend per share and helps to indicate how sustainable a dividend is.

Dividend cover of less than 1x suggests that the company can’t fund the payout from its current year earnings - and might be relying on other sources of funds to pay it.

• Federal Agricultural Mortgage has dividend cover of 2.94.

Next steps

With these important rules, you can track down shares that offer a reasonable yield, with a record of growth and safety. On this basis, Federal Agricultural Mortgage could be worth a closer look.

To find out more you might want to take a look at the Federal Agricultural Mortgage StockReport from the award-winning research platform, Stockopedia. StockReports contain a goldmine of information in a single page and can help to inform your investment decisions.

To find more stocks like Federal Agricultural Mortgage, you'll need to equip yourself with professional-grade data and screening tools. This kind of information has traditionally been closely guarded by professional fund managers. But our team of financial analysts have carefully constructed this screen - Stockopedia’s Dividend Stock Ideas - which gives you everything you need. So why not come and take a look?

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