Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a 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 Chord Energy's shares before the 11th of March in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 26th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$1.30 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$10.15 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Chord Energy stock has a trailing yield of around 8.2% on the current share price of US$102.45. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Chord Energy's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Chord Energy is paying out an acceptable 50% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Chord Energy generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Dividends consumed 58% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's positive to see that Chord Energy'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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Chord Energy's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 45% per annum for the past five years. The current payout ratio suggests a good balance between rewarding shareholders with dividends, and reinvesting in growth. Earnings per share have been growing quickly and in combination with some reinvestment and a middling payout ratio, the stock may have decent dividend prospects going forwards.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Chord Energy has delivered 54% dividend growth per year on average over the past four years. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

The Bottom Line

Is Chord Energy worth buying for its dividend? It's good to see earnings are growing, since all of the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run. However, we'd also note that Chord Energy is paying out more than half of its earnings and cash flow as profits, which could limit the dividend growth if earnings growth slows. While it does have some good things going for it, we're a bit ambivalent and it would take more to convince us of Chord Energy's dividend merits.

So while Chord Energy looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

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.