Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see YOOZOO Interactive Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002174) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Accordingly, YOOZOO Interactive investors that purchase the stock on or after the 20th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of September.

The company's next dividend payment will be CN¥0.001 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of CN¥0.05 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that YOOZOO Interactive has a trailing yield of 0.7% on the current share price of CN¥7.21. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether YOOZOO Interactive has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see YOOZOO Interactive paying out a modest 31% of its earnings. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether YOOZOO Interactive generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out 9.1% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

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?

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. YOOZOO Interactive's earnings have collapsed faster than Wile E Coyote's schemes to trap the Road Runner; down a tremendous 32% a year over the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. YOOZOO Interactive's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were nine years ago. When earnings are declining yet the dividends are flat, typically the company is either paying out a higher portion of its earnings, or paying out of cash or debt on the balance sheet, neither of which is ideal.

The Bottom Line

Has YOOZOO Interactive got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share are down meaningfully, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend needs to be cut. To summarise, YOOZOO Interactive looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for YOOZOO Interactive 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.