Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX:S68) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. 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 Singapore Exchange's shares on or after the 9th of February will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of February.

The company's upcoming dividend is S$0.085 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of S$0.34 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Singapore Exchange has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current stock price of S$9.54. 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 investigate whether Singapore Exchange can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Singapore Exchange

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. Singapore Exchange is paying out an acceptable 63% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Singapore Exchange earnings per share are up 9.4% per annum over the last five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Singapore Exchange has delivered an average of 2.0% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.

To Sum It Up

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Singapore Exchange? Singapore Exchange has been generating some growth in earnings per share while paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. We're unconvinced on the company's merits, and think there might be better opportunities out there.