Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Taylor Maritime Investments Limited (LON:TMI) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 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. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Taylor Maritime Investments' shares before the 8th of August in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of August.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.02 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.08 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Taylor Maritime Investments has a trailing yield of 7.6% on the current share price of US$1.05. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Taylor Maritime Investments's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Taylor Maritime Investments can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for Taylor Maritime Investments
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. Taylor Maritime Investments reported a loss last year, so it's not great to see that it has continued paying a dividend.
Click here to see how much of its profit Taylor Maritime Investments paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Taylor Maritime Investments was unprofitable last year, and sadly its loss per share worsened by 304% on the previous year.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past three years, Taylor Maritime Investments has increased its dividend at approximately 4.6% a year on average.
Get our latest analysis on Taylor Maritime Investments's balance sheet health here.
To Sum It Up
Has Taylor Maritime Investments got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's definitely not great to see that it paid a dividend despite reporting a loss last year. Worse, the general trend in its earnings looks negative in recent times. All things considered, we're not optimistic about its dividend prospects, and would be inclined to leave it on the shelf for now.