Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see International Housewares Retail Company Limited (HKG:1373) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase International Housewares Retail's shares before the 5th of January to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 2nd of February.

The company's next dividend payment will be HK$0.056 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of HK$0.13 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, International Housewares Retail has a trailing yield of 8.1% on the current stock price of HK$1.62. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether International Housewares Retail can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for International Housewares Retail

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. Its dividend payout ratio is 80% of profit, which means the company is paying out a majority of its earnings. The relatively limited profit reinvestment could slow the rate of future earnings growth. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether International Housewares Retail generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It distributed 32% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies.

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 how much of its profit International Housewares Retail paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at International Housewares Retail, with earnings per share up 3.0% on average over the last five years. A high payout ratio of 80% generally happens when a company can't find better uses for the cash. Combined with slim earnings growth in the past few years, International Housewares Retail could be signalling that its future growth prospects are thin.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, International Housewares Retail has lifted its dividend by approximately 13% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid International Housewares Retail? While earnings per share growth has been modest, International Housewares Retail's dividend payouts are around an average level; without a sharp change in earnings we feel that the dividend is likely somewhat sustainable. Pleasingly the company paid out a conservatively low percentage of its free cash flow. To summarise, International Housewares Retail 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 2 warning signs for International Housewares Retail 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.