General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 8th of April will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 8th of May.

General Dynamics's next dividend payment will be US$1.10 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$4.08 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, General Dynamics stock has a trailing yield of around 3.5% on the current share price of $125.68. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for General Dynamics

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. General Dynamics paid out a comfortable 34% of its profit last year. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. It paid out more than half (59%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.

It's positive to see that General Dynamics'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?

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. 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 encouraged by the steady growth at General Dynamics, with earnings per share up 8.7% on average over the last five years. While earnings have been growing at a credible rate, the company is paying out a majority of its earnings to shareholders. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. General Dynamics has delivered 11% dividend growth per year on average over the past ten years. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.