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Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A US$0.30 Dividend

Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in day or so. 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase Regional Management's shares before the 24th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of June.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.30 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.20 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Regional Management has a trailing yield of 2.7% on the current share price of $44.2. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Regional Management's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Regional Management can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for Regional Management

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Regional Management is paying out just 11% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.

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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.

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historic-dividend

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see Regional Management has grown its earnings rapidly, up 36% a year 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. Regional Management has delivered an average of 22% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past two years of dividend payments. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

Final Takeaway

Is Regional Management an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Companies like Regional Management that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This strategy can add significant value to shareholders over the long term - as long as it's done without issuing too many new shares. Regional Management ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.

So while Regional Management looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. We've identified 4 warning signs with Regional Management (at least 2 which are potentially serious), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.