Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Resources Connection, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGP) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four 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. 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. In other words, investors can purchase Resources Connection's shares before the 15th of November in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.14 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.56 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Resources Connection has a trailing yield of approximately 4.1% on its current stock price of $13.6. 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 investigate whether Resources Connection can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Resources Connection

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Resources Connection paid out a comfortable 48% of its profit last year. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 23% of its cash flow last year.

It's positive to see that Resources Connection's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. For this reason, we're glad to see Resources Connection's earnings per share have risen 14% per annum over the last five years. The company has managed to grow earnings at a rapid rate, while reinvesting most of the profits within the business. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.

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, Resources Connection has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.8% 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.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Resources Connection? Resources Connection has been growing earnings at a rapid rate, and has a conservatively low payout ratio, implying that it is reinvesting heavily in its business; a sterling combination. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.

So while Resources Connection looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Resources Connection and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

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.