It looks like Randstad N.V. (AMS:RAND) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be two business days before the record date, which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company’s books as a shareholder in order to receive the 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. In other words, investors can purchase Randstad’s shares before the 28th of March in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 2nd of April.

The company’s next dividend payment will be €1.62 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed €1.62 to shareholders. Calculating the last year’s worth of payments shows that Randstad has a trailing yield of 4.0% on the current share price of €40.48. 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.

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Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Last year, Randstad paid out 248% of its profit to shareholders in the form of dividends. This is not sustainable behaviour and requires a closer look on behalf of the purchaser. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. Randstad paid out more free cash flow than it generated – 113%, to be precise – last year, which we think is concerningly high. We’re curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.

Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given Randstad’s payments were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we are concerned about the sustainability of this dividend.

Check out our latest analysis for Randstad

Click here to see the company’s payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Randstad’s earnings per share have fallen at approximately 27% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.