Navigator Global Investments Limited (ASX:NGI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order 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 Navigator Global Investments' shares on or after the 25th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of September.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.06 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.095 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Navigator Global Investments has a trailing yield of approximately 6.7% on its current stock price of A$1.995. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Navigator Global Investments's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Navigator Global Investments

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. Navigator Global Investments paid out a comfortable 42% of its profit last year.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Navigator Global Investments's earnings per share have been growing at 10% a year for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Navigator Global Investments has delivered 6.6% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.