Should Income Investors Look At Norcros plc (LON:NXR) Before Its Ex-Dividend?

Readers hoping to buy Norcros plc (LON:NXR) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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. 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase Norcros' shares before the 24th of June to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of July.

The company's upcoming dividend is UK£0.082 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK£0.082 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Norcros has a trailing yield of 2.6% on the current share price of £3.15. 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 Norcros has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

See our latest analysis for Norcros

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. Norcros paid out a comfortable 44% of its profit last year.

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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. So we're not too excited that Norcros's earnings are down 2.8% a year over 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. Norcros has delivered 13% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years.

Final Takeaway

Has Norcros got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have shrunk noticeably in recent years, although we like that the company has a low payout ratio. This could suggest a cut to the dividend may not be a major risk in the near future. Overall, Norcros looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Norcros and you should be aware of them before buying any shares.

A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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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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