CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) is about to trade 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 because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. Meaning, you will need to purchase CNO Financial Group's shares before the 7th of March to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.15 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.60 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that CNO Financial Group has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current share price of US$26.97. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether CNO Financial Group's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. CNO Financial Group is paying out just 24% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see CNO Financial Group's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 27% per annum for the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, CNO Financial Group has increased its dividend at approximately 17% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy CNO Financial Group for the upcoming dividend? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating CNO Financial Group more closely.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks CNO Financial Group is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with CNO Financial Group (including 1 which is concerning).

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.