Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

It looks like Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE:DBI) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four 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. 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 Designer Brands' shares on or after the 21st of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 6th of July.

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. Last year's total dividend payments show that Designer Brands has a trailing yield of 1.4% on the current share price of $14.54. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Designer Brands has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for Designer Brands

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Designer Brands is paying out just 2.2% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Designer Brands, with earnings per share up 8.8% on average over the last five years. Earnings per share have been growing at a decent rate, and the company is retaining more than three-quarters of its earnings in the business. This is an attractive combination, because when profits are reinvested effectively, growth can compound, with corresponding benefits for earnings and dividends in the future.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Designer Brands's dividend payments per share have declined at 4.0% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. It's unusual to see earnings per share increasing at the same time as dividends per share have been in decline. We'd hope it's because the company is reinvesting heavily in its business, but it could also suggest business is lumpy.

Final Takeaway

Is Designer Brands an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It has been growing its earnings per share somewhat in recent years, although it reinvests more than half its earnings in the business, which could suggest there are some growth projects that have not yet reached fruition. In summary, Designer Brands appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.

In light of that, while Designer Brands has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Designer Brands you should know about.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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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.