Interested In Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's (CVE:MAR.UN) Upcoming CA$0.001425 Dividend? You Have Four Days Left

It looks like Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (CVE:MAR.UN) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 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 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. In other words, investors can purchase Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's shares before the 31st of December in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.001425 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$0.017 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has a trailing yield of approximately 2.3% on its current stock price of CA$0.76. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

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If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust is paying out just 3.0% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

View our latest analysis for Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust

Click here to see how much of its profit Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 20% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last four years, Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust has lifted its dividend by approximately 3.3% a year on average.

To Sum It Up

Has Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings per share are down over the past five years, although it has the cushion of a low payout ratio, which would suggest a cut to the dividend is relatively unlikely. It might be worth researching if the company is reinvesting in growth projects that could grow earnings and dividends in the future, but for now we're on the fence about its dividend prospects.

If you're not too concerned about Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Marwest Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

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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.