Caledonia Investments plc (LON:CLDN) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon
Caledonia Investments plc (LON:CLDN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 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. 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. Therefore, if you purchase Caledonia Investments' shares on or after the 2nd of December, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 6th of January.
The company's upcoming dividend is UK£0.17 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK£0.63 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Caledonia Investments stock has a trailing yield of around 1.8% on the current share price of £35.75. 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! As a result, readers should always check whether Caledonia Investments has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Caledonia Investments
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Caledonia Investments is paying out just 5.6% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see how much of its profit Caledonia Investments 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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Caledonia Investments's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 73% per annum for the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Caledonia Investments has lifted its dividend by approximately 5.5% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Caledonia Investments is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.
To Sum It Up
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Caledonia Investments? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Caledonia Investments ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Caledonia Investments that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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