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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 Martinrea International Inc. (TSE:MRE) 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 an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. This means that investors who purchase Martinrea International's shares on or after the 28th of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of July.
The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.05 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$0.20 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Martinrea International stock has a trailing yield of around 1.8% on the current share price of CA$11.38. 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.
See our latest analysis for Martinrea International
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Martinrea International is paying out just 11% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Martinrea International generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out 7.3% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
It's positive to see that Martinrea International'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?
Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Martinrea International's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.