Readers hoping to buy Strix Group Plc (LON:KETL) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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. Therefore, if you purchase Strix Group's shares on or after the 6th of October, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 28th of October.

The company's next dividend payment will be UK£0.028 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of UK£0.084 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Strix Group has a trailing yield of approximately 6.8% on its current stock price of £1.23. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Strix Group'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 Strix Group

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. It paid out 83% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. It could become a concern if earnings started to decline. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Strix Group generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out an unsustainably high 247% of its free cash flow as dividends over the past 12 months, which is worrying. It's pretty hard to pay out more than you earn, so we wonder how Strix Group intends to continue funding this dividend, or if it could be forced to cut the payment.

While Strix Group's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Strix Group's ability to maintain its dividend.

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. So we're not too excited that Strix Group's earnings are down 2.9% a year over the past five years.