The board of InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.60 on the 23rd of April, an increased payment from last year's comparable dividend. This makes the dividend yield 1.3%, which is above the industry average.

InterDigital's Projected Earnings Seem Likely To Cover Future Distributions

Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. However, prior to this announcement, InterDigital's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 44.0%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 26%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

InterDigital Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.80 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $2.40. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

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. It's encouraging to see that InterDigital has been growing its earnings per share at 84% a year over the past five years. Rapid earnings growth and a low payout ratio suggest this company has been effectively reinvesting in its business. Should that continue, this company could have a bright future.

We Really Like InterDigital's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Is InterDigital not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top 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.