Seaspan Corporation (NYSE:SSW): Ex-Dividend Is In 2 Days

Have you been keeping an eye on Seaspan Corporation's (NYSE:SSW) upcoming dividend of US$0.13 per share payable on the 30 April 2019? Then you only have 2 days left before the stock starts trading ex-dividend on the 18 April 2019. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I take a deeper dive into Seaspan's latest financial data to analyse its dividend attributes.

View our latest analysis for Seaspan

5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock

When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:

• Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
• Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?
• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
• Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
• Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?

Does Seaspan pass our checks?

The company currently pays out 37% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a higher payout ratio of 50% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of around 5.0%. However, EPS is forecasted to fall to $0.92 in the upcoming year. Therefore, although payout is expected to increase, the fall in earnings may not equate to higher dividend income.

When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.

If there's one type of stock you want to be reliable, it's dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. SSW investors will be well aware the dividend payments are lower today than they were 10 years ago, although the payments have at least been steady. However, income investors that value stability over growth may still find SSW appealing.

Compared to its peers, Seaspan has a yield of 5.0%, which is on the low-side for Shipping stocks.

Next Steps:

With this in mind, I definitely rank Seaspan as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I've put together three relevant aspects you should further examine:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SSW’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SSW’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is SSW worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SSW is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.