Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Guardian Capital Group Limited (TSE:GCG.A) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day 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. 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. In other words, investors can purchase Guardian Capital Group's shares before the 11th of October in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 18th of October.

The company's next dividend payment will be CA$0.37 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$1.48 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Guardian Capital Group has a trailing yield of approximately 3.6% on its current stock price of CA$41.03. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Guardian Capital Group has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Guardian Capital Group

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. Guardian Capital Group paid out 55% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

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. Guardian Capital Group's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 13% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Guardian Capital Group has lifted its dividend by approximately 21% a year on average. That's interesting, but the combination of a growing dividend despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out more of the company's profits. This can be valuable for shareholders, but it can't go on forever.