Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days.  The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend.  The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date.   Meaning, you will need to purchase Lazard's shares before the 3rd of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 17th of May.  

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.50 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.00 per share.  Based on the last year's worth of payments, Lazard stock has a trailing yield of around 5.1% on the current share price of US$38.99.    We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose!  We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation.   Lazard reported a loss last year, so it's not great to see that it has continued paying a dividend.  

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

NYSE:LAZ Historic Dividend April 28th 2024

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective.   If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke.     Lazard reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk.    

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time.     Lazard has delivered 7.2% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years.      

Get our latest analysis on Lazard's balance sheet health here.

Final Takeaway

Is Lazard worth buying for its dividend?    It's hard to get past the idea of Lazard paying a dividend despite reporting a loss over the past year - especially when the general trend in its earnings also looks to be negative.        All things considered, we're not optimistic about its dividend prospects, and would be inclined to leave it on the shelf for now.  

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Lazard don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business.     To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Lazard that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.  

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.

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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.