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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 SBS Transit Ltd (SGX:S61) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Accordingly, SBS Transit investors that purchase the stock on or after the 5th of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of May.
The company's next dividend payment will be S$0.054 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of S$0.11 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that SBS Transit has a trailing yield of 4.0% on the current share price of SGD2.75. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether SBS Transit's dividend is reliable and sustainable. 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 SBS Transit
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. SBS Transit paid out a comfortable 50% of its profit last year. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether SBS Transit generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out 14% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.
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 SBS Transit paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see SBS Transit earnings per share are up 7.5% per annum over the last five years. Management have been reinvested more than half of the company's earnings within the business, and the company has been able to grow earnings with this retained capital. We think this is generally an attractive combination, as dividends can grow through a combination of earnings growth and or a higher payout ratio over time.