Santam Ltd (JSE:SNT) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

Santam Ltd (JSE:SNT) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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 Santam's shares on or after the 23rd of March, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 28th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be R15.90 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed R15.80 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Santam has a trailing yield of approximately 5.4% on its current stock price of ZAR292.22. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Santam can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for Santam

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. Fortunately Santam's payout ratio is modest, at just 49% of profit.

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?

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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. For this reason, we're glad to see Santam's earnings per share have risen 17% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Santam has increased its dividend at approximately 1.2% a year on average. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.

To Sum It Up

Has Santam got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? 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. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Overall, Santam looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Santam is facing. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Santam that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield 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.