It looks like Chesnara plc (LON:CSN) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 5th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of October.

Chesnara's upcoming dividend is UK£0.074 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK£0.21 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Chesnara has a trailing yield of 7.3% on the current stock price of £2.82. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

View our latest analysis for Chesnara

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. Chesnara paid out more than half (55%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for 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 how much of its profit Chesnara paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. So we're not too excited that Chesnara's earnings are down 2.5% a year over the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Chesnara has lifted its dividend by approximately 2.9% a year on average. That's interesting, but the combination of a growing dividend despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out more of the company's profits. This can be valuable for shareholders, but it can't go on forever.

Final Takeaway

Is Chesnara an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share have been declining and the company is paying out more than half its profits to shareholders; not an enticing combination. All things considered, we're not optimistic about its dividend prospects, and would be inclined to leave it on the shelf for now.