In This Article:
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase Intercontinental Exchange's shares before the 14th of June to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of June.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.42 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.68 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Intercontinental Exchange has a trailing yield of 1.5% on the current share price of $110.6. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Intercontinental Exchange's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
See our latest analysis for Intercontinental Exchange
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. Intercontinental Exchange is paying out an acceptable 60% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Intercontinental Exchange's 9.7% 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. In the past nine years, Intercontinental Exchange has increased its dividend at approximately 14% a year on average. That's interesting, but the combination of a growing dividend despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out more of the company's profits. This can be valuable for shareholders, but it can't go on forever.