There's A Lot To Like About Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated's (NYSE:RBA) Upcoming US$0.20 Dividend

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 26th of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of June.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers's next dividend payment will be US$0.20 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.80 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has a trailing yield of 2.0% on the current share price of $40.15. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers paid out 57% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Fortunately, it paid out only 38% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers's earnings per share have risen 11% per annum over the last five years. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is paying out a bit over half its earnings, which suggests the company is striking a balance between reinvesting in growth, and paying dividends. Given the quick rate of earnings per share growth and current level of payout, there may be a chance of further dividend increases in the future.

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, ten years ago, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has lifted its dividend by approximately 7.2% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers for the upcoming dividend? We like Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers's growing earnings per share and the fact that - while its payout ratio is around average - it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is facing. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and you should be aware of them before buying any shares.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting 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. Thank you for reading.