Important news for shareholders and potential investors in CSS Industries Inc (NYSE:CSS): The dividend payment of $0.2 per share will be distributed into shareholder on 15 December 2017, and the stock will begin trading ex-dividend at an earlier date, 30 November 2017. Is this future income stream a compelling catalyst for dividend investors to think about CSS as an investment today? Let’s take a look at CSS’s most recent financial data to examine its dividend characteristics in more detail. Check out our latest analysis for CSS Industries

Here’s how I find good dividend stocks

When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:

• Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?

• Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?

• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

• Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

Does CSS Industries pass our checks?

The company currently pays out 35.05% of its earnings as a dividend, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward. If there’s one type of stock you want to be reliable, it’s dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. CSS has increased its DPS from $0.56 to $0.8 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. This is an impressive feat, which makes CSS a true dividend rockstar. Compared to its peers, CSS generates a yield of 2.94%, which is high for household durables stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder?

Are you a shareholder? With CSS Industries producing strong dividend income for your portfolio over the past few years, you can take comfort in knowing that this stock will still continue to be a robust dividend generator moving forward. However, depending on your current portfolio, it may be beneficial exploring other income stocks to increase diversification, or even look at high-growth stocks to supplement your steady income stocks. I encourage you to continue your research by exploring my interactive free list of dividend rockstars as well as high-growth stocks to potentially add to your holdings.