Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Indus Towers Limited (NSE:INDUSTOWER) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is two business days before the record date, which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Accordingly, Indus Towers investors that purchase the stock on or after the 10th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of September.
The company's next dividend payment will be ₹14.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of ₹14.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Indus Towers stock has a trailing yield of around 3.6% on the current share price of ₹385.85. 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 check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
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. Indus Towers paid out 52% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses.
Check out our latest analysis for Indus Towers
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
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 fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Indus Towers, with earnings per share up 9.2% on average over the last five years. While earnings have been growing at a credible rate, the company is paying out a majority of its earnings to shareholders. If management lifts the payout ratio further, we'd take this as a tacit signal that the company's growth prospects are slowing.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Indus Towers has delivered 17% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. 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.
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Indus Towers? Earnings per share have been growing at a reasonable rate, and the company is paying out a bit over half its earnings as dividends. Indus Towers ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
So while Indus Towers looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. For example, we've found 2 warning signs for Indus Towers that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.
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.