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Platinum Investment Management Limited (ASX:PTM) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next two days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Platinum Investment Management's shares before the 5th of September in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be AU$0.04 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed AU$0.08 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Platinum Investment Management stock has a trailing yield of around 8.3% on the current share price of AU$0.965. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Platinum Investment Management
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Platinum Investment Management paid out 126% of profit in the past year, which we think is typically not sustainable unless there are mitigating characteristics such as unusually strong cash flow or a large cash balance.
Generally, the higher a company's payout ratio, the more the dividend is at risk of being reduced.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Platinum Investment Management's 22% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Platinum Investment Management has seen its dividend decline 15% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.