It looks like UOL Group Limited (SGX:U14) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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. In other words, investors can purchase UOL Group's shares before the 2nd of May in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be S$0.20 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of S$0.20 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, UOL Group has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current stock price of S$5.79. 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 UOL Group has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

See our latest analysis for UOL Group

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. UOL Group paid out just 18% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether UOL Group generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 44% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's positive to see that UOL Group'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 the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

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 decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, UOL Group's earnings per share have been growing at 11% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.