Yahoo Finance Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A US$0.31 Dividend
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 Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. This means that investors who purchase Horace Mann Educators' shares on or after the 15th of September will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of September.
The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.31 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$1.24 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Horace Mann Educators has a trailing yield of 3.1% on the current share price of $39.93. 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! As a result, readers should always check whether Horace Mann Educators has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
View our latest analysis for Horace Mann Educators
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see Horace Mann Educators paying out a modest 30% of its earnings.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Horace Mann Educators's earnings per share have been growing at 13% a year for the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Horace Mann Educators has lifted its dividend by 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 Horace Mann Educators? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Horace Mann Educators ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
In light of that, while Horace Mann Educators has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. For example, we've found 1 warning sign for Horace Mann Educators that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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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