Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 27th of February to $0.51. This takes the annual payment to 0.7% of the current stock price, which unfortunately is below what the industry is paying.

Applied Industrial Technologies' Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings

If it is predictable over a long period, even low dividend yields can be attractive. However, prior to this announcement, Applied Industrial Technologies' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 6.4% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 17% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Applied Industrial Technologies Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $1.08 in 2016, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $2.04. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 6.6% per annum over that time. Companies like this can be very valuable over the long term, if the decent rate of growth can be maintained.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. We are encouraged to see that Applied Industrial Technologies has grown earnings per share at 23% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

We Really Like Applied Industrial Technologies' Dividend

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Applied Industrial Technologies is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

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. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.