SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SD) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 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. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Accordingly, SandRidge Energy investors that purchase the stock on or after the 16th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.11 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.44 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that SandRidge Energy has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current share price of US$12.18. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether SandRidge Energy's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether SandRidge Energy can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for SandRidge Energy

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. That's why it's good to see SandRidge Energy paying out a modest 39% of its earnings. 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. Thankfully its dividend payments took up just 27% of the free cash flow it generated, which is a comfortable payout ratio.

It's positive to see that SandRidge 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 how much of its profit SandRidge Energy paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's encouraging to see SandRidge Energy has grown its earnings rapidly, up 56% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend.