Here's What We Like About Keller Group's (LON:KLR) Upcoming Dividend

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Keller Group plc (LON:KLR) 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. 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. Thus, you can purchase Keller Group's shares before the 13th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 11th of September.

The company's next dividend payment will be UK£0.287 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of UK£0.70 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Keller Group has a trailing yield of 2.3% on the current stock price of UK£30.76. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

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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 Keller Group's payout ratio is modest, at just 36% of profit. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 28% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.

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.

View our latest analysis for Keller Group

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 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 Keller Group has grown its earnings rapidly, up 31% a year for the past five years. Keller Group is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Keller Group has delivered an average of 10% 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.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Keller Group for the upcoming dividend? We love that Keller Group is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. There's a lot to like about Keller Group, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

In light of that, while Keller Group has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Keller Group and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.