Crown Crafts, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CRWS) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.08 per share on 4th of April. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 7.5%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Crown Crafts

Crown Crafts' Future Dividends May Potentially Be At Risk

While it is great to have a strong dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, Crown Crafts' dividend was higher than its profits, but the free cash flows quite comfortably covered it. Given that the dividend is a cash outflow, we think that cash is more important than accounting measures of profit when assessing the dividend, so this is a mitigating factor.

Looking forward, EPS could fall by 17.8% if the company can't turn things around from the last few years. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could reach 166%, which could put the dividend in jeopardy if the company's earnings don't improve.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The last annual payment of $0.32 was flat on the annual payment from10 years ago. We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments the total shareholder return may be limited.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Earnings per share has been sinking by 18% over the last five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective. Even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Crown Crafts' 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 Crown Crafts' payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Crown Crafts (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.