ISS A/S (CPH:ISS) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon

ISS A/S (CPH:ISS) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four 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. In other words, investors can purchase ISS' shares before the 14th of April in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of April.

The company's next dividend payment will be kr.2.10 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of kr.2.10 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ISS stock has a trailing yield of around 1.5% on the current share price of DKK140.5. 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! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for ISS

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. ISS paid out just 20% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. So we're not too excited that ISS's earnings are down 2.0% a year over the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. ISS has seen its dividend decline 10% per annum on average over the past eight years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy ISS for the upcoming dividend? ISS's earnings per share are down over the past five years, although it has the cushion of a low payout ratio, which would suggest a cut to the dividend is relatively unlikely. ISS 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for ISS you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

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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.