Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is about to go ex-dividend in just four 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 of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Thus, you can purchase FMC's shares before the 29th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 21st of October.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.48 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.92 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that FMC has a trailing yield of 2.0% on the current share price of $94.49. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

Check out our latest analysis for FMC

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. FMC paid out a comfortable 42% of its profit last year. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether FMC generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. It paid out more than half (51%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

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

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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's encouraging to see FMC has grown its earnings rapidly, up 43% 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. FMC has delivered an average of 20% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 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

Has FMC got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have grown at a nice rate in recent times and over the last year, FMC paid out less than half its earnings and a bit over half its free cash flow. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

So while FMC looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for FMC (1 is a bit concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the shares.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.

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