Cineline India (NSE:CINELINE) Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend

Cineline India Limited (NSE:CINELINE) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is two business days before a company's record date in most cases, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled 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. Accordingly, Cineline India investors that purchase the stock on or after the 16th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 23rd of October.

The company's upcoming dividend is ₹1.25 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of ₹1.25 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Cineline India has a trailing yield of 1.3% on the current stock price of ₹96.31. 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 Cineline India has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

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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 Cineline India's payout ratio is modest, at just 37% of profit. Cineline India paid a dividend despite reporting negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. This may be due to heavy investment in the business, but this is still suboptimal from a dividend sustainability perspective.

See our latest analysis for Cineline India

Click here to see how much of its profit Cineline India paid out over the last 12 months.

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. For this reason, we're glad to see Cineline India's earnings per share have risen 16% per annum over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past nine years, Cineline India has increased its dividend at approximately 11% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Cineline India? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the 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. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Cineline India more closely.

While it's tempting to invest in Cineline India for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Cineline India that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company.

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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.