Omnicom Group Inc.'s (NYSE:OMC) periodic dividend will be increasing on the 9th of January to $0.80, with investors receiving 14% more than last year's $0.70. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 3.9%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns.

Omnicom Group's Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Prior to this announcement, Omnicom Group's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

EPS is set to fall by 2.9% over the next 12 months. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 45%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Omnicom Group Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $2.00 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $2.80. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.4% a year over that time. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Omnicom Group has impressed us by growing EPS at 9.2% per year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

We Really Like Omnicom Group'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 company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. 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. 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. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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.