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Readers hoping to buy Randstad N.V. (AMS:RAND) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 27th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 2nd of October.
Randstad's next dividend payment will be €1.1 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed €3.4 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Randstad has a trailing yield of 7.3% on the current share price of €46.44. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Randstad
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. Randstad is paying out an acceptable 62% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Dividends consumed 63% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.
It's positive to see that Randstad's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Randstad's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 24% per annum for the past five years. The current payout ratio suggests a good balance between rewarding shareholders with dividends, and reinvesting in growth. With a reasonable payout ratio, profits being reinvested, and some earnings growth, Randstad could have strong prospects for future increases to the dividend.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Randstad has delivered 12% dividend growth per year on average over the past nine years. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.