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 Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603267) is about to go ex-dividend in just three 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 of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology's shares before the 14th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be CN¥0.35 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CN¥0.35 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology stock has a trailing yield of around 1.0% on the current share price of CN¥36.18. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology paid out a comfortable 33% 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. The good news is it paid out just 19% of its free cash flow in the last year.

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 how much of its profit Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology 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. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. That's why it's not ideal to see Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology's earnings per share have been shrinking at 3.5% a year over the previous five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology's dividend payments per share have declined at 13% per year on average over the past five 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.

The Bottom Line

Has Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share are down meaningfully, although at least the company is paying out a low and conservative percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It's definitely not great to see earnings falling, but at least there may be some buffer before the dividend needs to be cut. All things considered, we are not particularly enthused about Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology from a dividend perspective.

In light of that, while Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Beijing Yuanliu Hongyuan Electronic Technology you should know about.

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.