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It looks like Mainfreight Limited (NZSE:MFT) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Accordingly, Mainfreight investors that purchase the stock on or after the 14th of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of July.
The company's next dividend payment will be NZ$1.02 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of NZ$1.74 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Mainfreight has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current share price of NZ$71. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Mainfreight's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Mainfreight has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Mainfreight
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. Fortunately Mainfreight's payout ratio is modest, at just 40% of profit. 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 32% of its free cash flow in the past year.
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?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's encouraging to see Mainfreight has grown its earnings rapidly, up 28% a year for the past five years. Mainfreight is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend.