Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see CRH plc (NYSE:CRH) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three 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. 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. Therefore, if you purchase CRH's shares on or after the 22nd of November, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 18th of December.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.2625 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.40 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CRH has a trailing yield of 1.4% on the current stock price of US$98.29. 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 check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. CRH paid out a comfortable 42% of its profit last year. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It paid out more than half (69%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.

It's positive to see that CRH'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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see CRH's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 23% per annum for the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. CRH has delivered an average of 5.0% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because CRH is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.

To Sum It Up

Is CRH an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share have grown at a nice rate in recent times and over the last year, CRH paid out less than half its earnings and a bit over half its free cash flow. CRH looks solid on this analysis overall, and we'd definitely consider investigating it more closely.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. For example - CRH has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield 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.