Two Days Left To Buy Stantec Inc. (TSE:STN) Before The Ex-Dividend Date

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Stantec Inc. (TSE:STN) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. Investors can purchase shares before the 29th of September in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of October.

Stantec's next dividend payment will be CA$0.15 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.62 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Stantec has a trailing yield of 1.5% on the current share price of CA$40.03. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Stantec can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for Stantec

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 Stantec paying out a modest 37% 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. Luckily it paid out just 12% of its free cash flow last year.

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 the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's not encouraging to see that Stantec's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, nine years ago, Stantec has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.4% a year on average.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Stantec? Earnings per share have been flat, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend gets cut. In summary, while it has some positive characteristics, we're not inclined to race out and buy Stantec today.

In light of that, while Stantec has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Stantec and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting 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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