Only Two Days Left To Cash In On Fiera Capital's (TSE:FSZ) Dividend

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Fiera Capital Corporation (TSE:FSZ) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 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. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least one business day to settle. Accordingly, Fiera Capital investors that purchase the stock on or after the 24th of November will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.108 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CA$0.43 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Fiera Capital has a trailing yield of 7.2% on the current stock price of CA$6.02. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fiera Capital paid out a disturbingly high 224% of its profit as dividends last year, which makes us concerned there's something we don't fully understand in the business.

When a company pays out a dividend that is not well covered by profits, the dividend is generally seen as more vulnerable to being cut.

See our latest analysis for Fiera Capital

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

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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Fiera Capital's earnings per share have been growing at 12% a year for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Fiera Capital's dividend payments per share have declined at 1.8% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring.

Final Takeaway

Has Fiera Capital got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? We're not enthused to see Fiera Capital's dividend was not well covered by earnings over the last year, although it is great to see earnings growing. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.

However if you're still interested in Fiera Capital as a potential investment, you should definitely consider some of the risks involved with Fiera Capital. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Fiera Capital (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored).

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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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.