Covered five times over on earnings, raised every year. Raymond James paid about $312 million of common dividends against $1,739 million of net income in fiscal 2025, about 18%, on the sector-appropriate earnings base for a financial under the §3 sector note. The quarterly rate is $0.54, raised every year on the split-adjusted record from $0.147 in 2017; the apparent 2021 step is the August 2021 3-for-2 stock split, economically equivalent, not a cut. The 1.37% yield clears the sub-1% line and every check passes, so the card is graded good.
Key risk: Wealth-management and capital-markets revenue follows markets — a long decline shrinks the earnings that cover the dividend five times over today.
Changes if: The earnings payout rises above 60%, or the dividend is cut.
- ✓Earnings payout About 18% of FY2025 net income, pass (<60%), on the sector-appropriate base.
- ✓Leverage basis Financial, not graded on net debt/EBITDA; graded on earnings payout and capital under the §3 sector note, as on the BNY card.
- ✓Dividend history Raised every year on the split-adjusted record, 2017 to 2026; no cut. The 2021 step is the 3-for-2 split, per the company's dividend-history page.
- ✓Trap screen Yield 1.37%, no cut, payout under 100%; not a trap pattern.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.