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Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon

Readers hoping to buy Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 30th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of October.

Raymond James Financial's next dividend payment will be US$0.37 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.48 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Raymond James Financial stock has a trailing yield of around 2.1% on the current share price of $69.56. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

View our latest analysis for Raymond James Financial

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Raymond James Financial paid out just 23% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

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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 Raymond James Financial's earnings per share have risen 13% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Raymond James Financial has delivered 13% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

To Sum It Up

Has Raymond James Financial got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Companies like Raymond James Financial that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Raymond James Financial 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.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Raymond James Financial is facing. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Raymond James Financial and you should be aware of it before buying any shares.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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