It looks like Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 2 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled 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. In other words, investors can purchase Intercontinental Exchange's shares before the 16th of December in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 31st of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.45 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.80 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Intercontinental Exchange has a trailing yield of 1.1% on the current stock price of US$156.55. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fortunately Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is modest, at just 42% of profit.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

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

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. 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 Intercontinental Exchange, with earnings per share up 4.1% on average over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Intercontinental Exchange has lifted its dividend by approximately 13% 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.

To Sum It Up

Is Intercontinental Exchange an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Intercontinental Exchange has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. Overall, Intercontinental Exchange looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.

While it's tempting to invest in Intercontinental Exchange for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Intercontinental Exchange and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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.