Do These 3 Checks Before Buying ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day 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. This means that investors who purchase ProAssurance's shares on or after the 23rd of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 8th of October.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.05 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.20 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that ProAssurance has a trailing yield of 0.8% on the current share price of $23.63. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether ProAssurance has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for ProAssurance

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. ProAssurance lost money last year, so the fact that it's paying a dividend is certainly disconcerting. There might be a good reason for this, but we'd want to look into it further before getting comfortable.

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

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. ProAssurance reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. ProAssurance's dividend payments per share have declined at 8.8% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's never nice to see earnings and dividends falling, but at least management has cut the dividend rather than potentially risk the company's health in an attempt to maintain it.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of ProAssurance's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here.

To Sum It Up

Is ProAssurance worth buying for its dividend? First, it's not great to see the company paying a dividend despite being loss-making over the last year. Worse, the general trend in its earnings looks negative in recent years. These characteristics don't generally lead to outstanding dividend performance, and investors may not be happy with the results of owning this stock for its dividend.

Wondering what the future holds for ProAssurance? See what the three analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Duke of Edinburgh leads commemoration of Australia and New Zealand’s war dead

    Edward paid his respects to the Antipodean fallen on behalf of the nation.

  • Q1 2024 Align Technology Inc Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 Align Technology Inc Earnings Call

  • EU military officer says a frigate has destroyed a drone launched from Yemen's Houthi-held areas

    NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning. Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its conn

  • FTSE 100 Live 25 April: Index surges on £31bn mining takeover move and blue-chip updates

    A £31 billion takeover pursuit and some robust blue-chip updates helped to boost the FTSE 100 index today. Anglo American, whose interests include De Beers and the giant Woodsmith polyhalite project in North Yorkshire, is the target of Australia’s BHP. Meanwhile, shares in Barclays, AstraZeneca and Unilever performed strongly after their first quarter updates.

  • SNP's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens collapses

    It follows the government's decision to scrap key climate targets and its response to a review into gender services.

  • EU should set 600 billion euro target for capital markets union-France

    The European Union should set a target to raise 600 billion euros ($644 billion) in investments annually by the end of the decade by integrating its fragmented capital markets, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday. Although Europeans generally save more than Americans, EU capital markets currently lack the depth of their U.S. counterparts because they largely operate along national lines. All EU leaders gave support to the principle of capital markets union at a summit this month though divisions remain on the details, with some countries reluctant to cede control of national financial rules.

  • House speaker Mike Johnson heckled by protesters in tense campus visit

    While the Speaker visited Columbia, police confronted pro-Palestinian protesters at campuses in Texas and California.

  • Shoplifting hits record high with more than 1,000 offences a day

    Shoplifting has hit a record high of nearly 1,200 offences a day - but the number of cases solved has fallen to a low of just one in 10.

  • Dow Jones Futures Fall As Meta Dives On Guidance; Chipotle Eyes Buy Point

    The rally attempt paused Wednesday as Nvidia reversed lower. Meta, Chipotle and ServiceNow led key earnings late.

  • Fourth person arrested after five migrants die in Channel boat crossing tragedy

    An 18-year-old from Sudan was arrested at Manston migrant processing centre in Kent on Wednesday evening.

  • Q1 2024 Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc Earnings Call

  • Russian rouble hits three-week high on eve of rate decision

    The Russian rouble hit a three-week high against the dollar on Thursday, a day before the central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates at 16% for its third meeting in a row. At 1039 GMT the rouble was up 0.1% against the dollar at 92.11 for its strongest since April 3. All 26 analysts polled by Reuters this week expect the Bank of Russia to keep interest rates unchanged on Friday, with inflation's only gradual slowdown preventing the central bank from easing borrowing costs more quickly.

  • Here are the transportation options for the 2024 NFL Draft

    The 2024 NFL Draft is set to bring hundreds of thousands of people into Downtown Detroit for the three-day event on April 25-27, and that means lot of vehicular traffic.

  • Q&A: Labour’s plan for rail reform and the background to nationalisation

    Labour has pledged to nationalise the rail network, claiming it has become a ‘symbol of national decline’.

  • Kim Petras cancels gigs on doctor's orders

    The I Don't Want It At All singer took to social media to announce that she is cancelling her scheduled festival performances this summer. "My buns, I'm devastated to be writing this but I'm going through some health issues and under medical advice I have had to make the hard decision to not perform at festivals this summer," Petras shared. She did not provide details on exactly what health issues she is experiencing. "I love u so much and I'll make it up to you and be back better than ever very soon," she signed off.

  • Green fleet transition faces financial roadblock

    The cost of replacing 41 diesel waste vehicles with electric or hydrogen models proving prohibitive.

  • UPDATE 1-Caterpillar profit rises as higher prices offset easing demand

    Caterpillar posted a rise in quarterly profit on Thursday as it held on to higher prices for its construction equipment as demand eased from last year's boom. Caterpillar has benefited from President Joe Biden's $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law to upgrade roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. Although the boom from last year has eased it has remained relatively stable, helping Caterpillar hold on to the price increases it launched in the second half of 2023.

  • Vauxhall maker threatens to quit UK market over electric car mandate

    The net zero crackdown on combustion engines could force the maker of Vauxhall to pull out of Britain, its boss has warned.

  • Here’s Why HCI Group (HCI) Rose in Q1

    Bernzott Capital Advisors, an investment management firm, published its “US Small Cap Value Fund” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the portfolio gained +8.5% on a net basis, well above R2000V’s advance of +2.9% and above R2500V’s rise of +6.1%. The largest contribution to the […]

  • Belarus says it thwarted attack on capital by drones launched from Lithuania

    The head of the Belarusian security service said on Thursday it had thwarted an attack on the capital Minsk by drones launched from Lithuania, Russian state news agencies said. There was no immediate comment from NATO-member Lithuania. "The State Security Committee, in cooperation with colleagues from other law enforcement agencies, has recently carried out a number of acute security measures, which made it possible to prevent strikes by combat drones from the territory of Lithuania on objects in Minsk and its suburbs," RIA news agency quoted Belarusian security chief Ivan Tertel as saying.