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Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Atkore's shares before the 18th of February in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 28th of February.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.32 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.28 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Atkore has a trailing yield of approximately 1.8% on its current stock price of US$69.95. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
View our latest analysis for Atkore
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Atkore paid out just 12% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It paid out 14% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Atkore's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 30% per annum for the past five years. Atkore looks like a real growth company, with earnings per share growing at a cracking pace and the company reinvesting most of its profits in the business.