Income Investors Should Know That Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc. (TSE:BRE) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon

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 Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc. (TSE:BRE) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 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. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Thus, you can purchase Bridgemarq Real Estate Services’ shares before the 28th of September in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 31st of October.

The company’s upcoming dividend is CA$0.11 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$1.35 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year’s worth of payments, Bridgemarq Real Estate Services stock has a trailing yield of around 10.0% on the current share price of CA$13.52. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long-term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Bridgemarq Real Estate Services

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. Bridgemarq Real Estate Services is paying out an acceptable 57% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. 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 84% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is within usual limits but will limit the company’s ability to lift the dividend if there’s no growth.

It’s positive to see that Bridgemarq Real Estate Services’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 Bridgemarq Real Estate Services paid out over the last 12 months.

TSX:BRE Historic Dividend September 24th 2022

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. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It’s encouraging to see Bridgemarq Real Estate Services has grown its earnings rapidly, up 29% a year for the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company’s dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. It looks like the Bridgemarq Real Estate Services dividends are largely the same as they were 10 years ago.

The Bottom Line

Has Bridgemarq Real Estate Services got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It’s good to see earnings are growing, since all of the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run. That’s why we’re glad to see Bridgemarq Real Estate Services’ earnings per share growing, although as we saw, the company is paying out more than half of its earnings and cash flow – 57% and 84% respectively. 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 not all that optimistic on its dividend prospects.

So while Bridgemarq Real Estate Services looks good from a dividend perspective, it’s always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Be aware that Bridgemarq Real Estate Services is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysisand 3 of those shouldn’t be ignored…

If you’re in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top 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.

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