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ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. If you purchase the stock on or after the 26th of September, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 11th of October.
ProAssurance's next dividend payment will be US$0.3 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.7 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that ProAssurance has a trailing yield of 4.3% on the current share price of $40.13. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for ProAssurance
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. ProAssurance distributed an unsustainably high 133% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without extenuating circumstances, we'd consider the dividend at risk of a cut.
When a company pays out a dividend that is not well covered by profits, the dividend is generally seen as more vulnerable to being cut.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. ProAssurance's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 28% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last eight years, ProAssurance has lifted its dividend by approximately 17% a year on average. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. ProAssurance is already paying out 133% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy ProAssurance for the upcoming dividend? Not only are earnings per share shrinking, but ProAssurance is paying out a disconcertingly high percentage of its profit as dividends. Generally we think dividend investors should avoid businesses in this situation, as high payout ratios and declining earnings can lead to the dividend being cut. This is not an overtly appealing combination of characteristics, and we're just not that interested in this company's dividend.