There's A Lot To Like About Banca Mediolanum's (BIT:BMED) Upcoming €0.35 Dividend

It looks like Banca Mediolanum S.p.A. (BIT:BMED) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Accordingly, Banca Mediolanum investors that purchase the stock on or after the 19th of April will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 21st of April.

The company's upcoming dividend is €0.35 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of €0.46 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Banca Mediolanum stock has a trailing yield of around 6.0% on the current share price of €7.64. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Banca Mediolanum can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for Banca Mediolanum

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. That's why it's good to see Banca Mediolanum paying out a modest 47% of its earnings.

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 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 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 Banca Mediolanum's earnings per share have risen 13% per annum over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, six years ago, Banca Mediolanum has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.6% 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

Is Banca Mediolanum an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Banca Mediolanum more closely.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Banca Mediolanum (including 1 which is significant).

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.