Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to seeSpark Energy, Inc.(NASDAQ:SPKE) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. You can purchase shares before the 31st of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of September.

Spark Energy's upcoming dividend is US$0.18 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.72 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Spark Energy has a trailing yield of 7.7% on the current stock price of $9.38. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether Spark Energy has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Spark Energy

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. Fortunately Spark Energy's payout ratio is modest, at just 46% of profit. 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 17% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is conservatively low.

It's positive to see that Spark Energy'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 how much of its profit Spark Energy paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Spark Energy's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 19% a year over the previous five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past six years, Spark Energy has increased its dividend at approximately 7.1% a year on average.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Spark Energy? 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. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Spark Energy's dividend merits.

In light of that, while Spark Energy has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. For example, Spark Energy has4 warning signs(and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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