Readers hoping to buy Nandan Denim Limited (NSE:NDL) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 5th of September will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 23rd of September.

Nandan Denim's next dividend payment will be ₹0.50 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed ₹0.50 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Nandan Denim stock has a trailing yield of around 1.8% on the current share price of ₹28.5. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether Nandan Denim has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Nandan Denim

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Nandan Denim has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 12% of its income after tax.

Click here to see how much of its profit Nandan Denim 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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Nandan Denim's 14% 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.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Nandan Denim's dividend payments per share have declined at 9.4% per year on average over the past 7 years, which is uninspiring. 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.

The Bottom Line

Is Nandan Denim worth buying for its dividend? Nandan Denim has comfortably low cash and profit payout ratios, which may mean the dividend is sustainable even in the face of a sharp decline in earnings per share. Still, we consider declining earnings to be a warning sign. To summarise, Nandan Denim looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity.