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Palace Capital Plc (LON:PCA) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon

Readers hoping to buy Palace Capital Plc (LON:PCA) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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 important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Thus, you can purchase Palace Capital's shares before the 30th of June in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 5th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be UK£0.037 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK£0.13 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Palace Capital stock has a trailing yield of around 5.6% on the current share price of £2.68. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

View our latest analysis for Palace Capital

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Palace Capital paid out just 25% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The good news is it paid out just 17% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It's positive to see that Palace Capital's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

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

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historic-dividend

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 Palace Capital, with earnings per share up 7.7% on average over the last five years. Earnings per share have been increasing steadily and management is reinvesting almost all of the profits back into the business. If profits are reinvested effectively, this could be a bullish combination for future earnings and dividends.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last eight years, Palace Capital has lifted its dividend by approximately 18% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

The Bottom Line

Is Palace Capital an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share growth has been growing somewhat, and Palace Capital is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it suggests management may be reinvesting heavily in the business, but it also provides room to increase the dividend in time. It might be nice to see earnings growing faster, but Palace Capital is being conservative with its dividend payouts and could still perform reasonably over the long run. There's a lot to like about Palace Capital, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

In light of that, while Palace Capital has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Palace Capital (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares.

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.