There's A Lot To Like About Ebix, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:EBIX) Upcoming US$0.075 Dividend

Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBIX) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 28th of February will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of March.

Ebix's next dividend payment will be US$0.075 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.30 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ebix has a trailing yield of 0.9% on the current share price of $33.71. 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 Ebix has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for Ebix

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. Ebix is paying out just 11% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Ebix generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. 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 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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. For this reason, we're glad to see Ebix's earnings per share have risen 12% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last eight years, Ebix has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.2% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Ebix? Ebix has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past eight years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

Wondering what the future holds for Ebix? See what the two analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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