Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSE:WCP) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 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 because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase Whitecap Resources' shares on or after the 31st of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of August.

The company's upcoming dividend is CA$0.0608 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of CA$0.73 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Whitecap Resources stock has a trailing yield of around 7.0% on the current share price of CA$10.48. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Whitecap Resources

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Whitecap Resources paid out 54% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. 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. It paid out more than half (65%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.

It's positive to see that Whitecap Resources'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. It's encouraging to see Whitecap Resources has grown its earnings rapidly, up 52% a year for the past five years. Management appears to be striking a nice balance between reinvesting for growth and paying dividends to shareholders. With a reasonable payout ratio, profits being reinvested, and some earnings growth, Whitecap Resources could have strong prospects for future increases to the dividend.