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Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (CVE:MAR.UN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's shares before the 29th of April to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of May.
The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.001275 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.015 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has a trailing yield of 1.8% on the current share price of CA$0.85. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust'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 Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust
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. Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust is paying out just 1.5% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.
When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.
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 fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For that reason, it's encouraging to see Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings over the past year have risen 156%. While we'd be remiss not to point out that a year is a very short time in dividend investing, it's an encouraging sign so far.