The board of Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 26th of June, with investors receiving $0.10 per share. The dividend yield will be 9.9% based on this payment which is still above the industry average.

Check out our latest analysis for Ardagh Metal Packaging

Ardagh Metal Packaging's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. The company is paying out a large amount of its cash flows, even though it isn't generating any profit. This makes us feel that the dividend will be hard to maintain.

According to analysts, EPS should be several times higher next year. If the dividend extends its recent trend, estimates say the dividend could reach 46%, which we would be comfortable to see continuing.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Is Still Building Its Track Record

The dividend has been pretty stable looking back, but the company hasn't been paying one for very long. This makes it tough to judge how it would fare through a full economic cycle. There hasn't been much of a change in the dividend over the last 2 years. Ardagh Metal Packaging hasn't been paying a dividend for very long, so we wouldn't get to excited about its record of growth just yet.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Could Grow Its Dividend

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. We are encouraged to see that Ardagh Metal Packaging has grown earnings per share at 6.1% per year over the past five years. Unprofitable companies aren't normally our pick for a dividend stock, but we like the growth that we have been seeing. As long as the company becomes profitable soon, it is on a trajectory that could see it being a solid dividend payer.

Ardagh Metal Packaging's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Ardagh Metal Packaging's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The track record isn't great, and the payments are a bit high to be considered sustainable. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Ardagh Metal Packaging that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Ardagh Metal Packaging not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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