JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next two days. 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 important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase JPMorgan Chase's shares on or after the 5th of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 31st of July.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$1.00 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$4.00 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, JPMorgan Chase has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current stock price of $114.05. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for JPMorgan Chase

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see JPMorgan Chase paying out a modest 29% of its earnings.

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?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, JPMorgan Chase's earnings per share have been growing at 17% a year for the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, JPMorgan Chase has increased its dividend at approximately 15% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid JPMorgan Chase? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. In summary, JPMorgan Chase appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.