Interested In London Security's (LON:LSC) Upcoming UK£0.40 Dividend? You Have Three Days Left

London Security plc (LON:LSC) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. Investors can purchase shares before the 29th of October in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 27th of November.

London Security's next dividend payment will be UK£0.40 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK£0.40 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, London Security has a trailing yield of approximately 2.6% on its current stock price of £23. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether London Security's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether London Security can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for London Security

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. London Security paid out more than half (51%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for 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. Fortunately, it paid out only 49% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's positive to see that London Security'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 London Security 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. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see London Security earnings per share are up 2.6% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share growth has been slim, and the company is already paying out a majority of its earnings. While there is some room to both increase the payout ratio and reinvest in the business, generally the higher a payout ratio goes, the lower a company's prospects for future growth.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. London Security has delivered an average of 15% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past nine years of dividend payments. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy London Security for the upcoming dividend? Earnings per share growth has been modest and London Security paid out over half of its profits and less than half of its free cash flow, although both payout ratios are within normal limits. 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.

While it's tempting to invest in London Security for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with London Security and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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. 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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