Interested In Compagnie Lebon's (EPA:ALBON) Upcoming €3.50 Dividend? You Have Four Days Left

Compagnie Lebon (EPA:ALBON) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Thus, you can purchase Compagnie Lebon's shares before the 5th of June in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 7th of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be €3.50 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed €3.50 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Compagnie Lebon has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current stock price of €97.80. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Compagnie Lebon's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Compagnie Lebon has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Compagnie Lebon

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. Compagnie Lebon paid out a comfortable 39% of its profit last year.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit Compagnie Lebon paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. From this viewpoint, it's unfortunate that earnings per share have declined 12% over the last year.

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, 10 years ago, Compagnie Lebon has lifted its dividend by approximately 0.9% a year on average.

Final Takeaway

Has Compagnie Lebon got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Compagnie Lebon's earnings per share are down sharply over the last year, although we note that it is paying out a low fraction of its earnings. Ordinarily we wouldn't be too concerned about a one-year decline, but the 51% drop in earnings per share is enough to make us think twice. In sum this is a middling combination, and we find it hard to get excited about the company from a dividend perspective.

If you're not too concerned about Compagnie Lebon's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Compagnie Lebon (including 1 which can't be ignored).

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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.