It looks like Chengdu Jiafaantai Education Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300559) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd's shares on or after the 14th of May, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 14th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be CN¥0.15 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CN¥0.15 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current share price of CN¥11.28. 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 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. Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd paid out a comfortable 44% of its profit last year. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Luckily it paid out just 19% of its free cash flow last year.

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.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. 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 not enthused to see that Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share. Recent growth has not been impressive. Yet there are several ways to grow the dividend, and one of them is simply that the company may choose to pay out more of its earnings as dividends.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd has delivered 24% dividend growth per year on average over the past seven years.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd for the upcoming dividend? The company has barely grown earnings per share over this time, but at least it's paying out a decently low percentage of its earnings and cashflow as dividends. This could suggest management is reinvesting in future growth opportunities. Generally we like to see both low payout ratios and strong earnings per share growth, but Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd is halfway there. There's a lot to like about Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

So while Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Chengdu Jiafaantai Education TechnologyLtd and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.