Be Sure To Check Out Votum S.A. (WSE:VOT) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

Votum S.A. (WSE:VOT) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be two business days 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 an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Votum's shares on or after the 15th of December, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 23rd of December.

The company's upcoming dividend is zł1.67 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of zł2.42 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Votum has a trailing yield of 5.1% on the current stock price of zł47.30. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Votum has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

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Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Votum paid out a comfortable 29% 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Votum

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

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. It's encouraging to see Votum has grown its earnings rapidly, up 56% a year for the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Votum has delivered an average of 14% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

Final Takeaway

Is Votum worth buying for its dividend? 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 Votum more closely.

In light of that, while Votum has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. For example - Votum has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.