Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Kumpulan Fima Berhad (KLSE:KFIMA) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Thus, you can purchase Kumpulan Fima Berhad's shares before the 3rd of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 18th of August.
The company's next dividend payment will be RM0.12 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed RM0.12 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Kumpulan Fima Berhad has a trailing yield of approximately 5.7% on its current stock price of MYR2.11. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Kumpulan Fima Berhad's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Kumpulan Fima Berhad
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see Kumpulan Fima Berhad paying out a modest 39% of its earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It paid out more than half (75%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
Click here to see how much of its profit Kumpulan Fima Berhad paid out over the last 12 months.
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. For this reason, we're glad to see Kumpulan Fima Berhad's earnings per share have risen 17% per annum over the last five years. Kumpulan Fima Berhad is paying out a bit over half its earnings, which suggests the company is striking a balance between reinvesting in growth, and paying dividends. Given the quick rate of earnings per share growth and current level of payout, there may be a chance of further dividend increases in the future.