It looks like Mercury General Corporation (NYSE:MCY) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 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 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. Therefore, if you purchase Mercury General's shares on or after the 12th of March, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 27th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.3175 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.27 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Mercury General stock has a trailing yield of around 2.6% on the current share price of US$48.31. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Mercury General has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

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. Mercury General paid out more than half (73%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies.

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 how much of its profit Mercury General paid out over the last 12 months.

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. Mercury General's earnings have collapsed faster than Wile E Coyote's schemes to trap the Road Runner; down a tremendous 38% 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. Mercury General's dividend payments per share have declined at 6.4% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Mercury General for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share have been declining and the company is paying out more than half its profits to shareholders; not an enticing combination. These characteristics don't generally lead to outstanding dividend performance, and investors may not be happy with the results of owning this stock for its dividend.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Mercury General don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. Our analysis shows 1 warning sign for Mercury General and you should be aware of this before buying any shares.

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.