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Be Sure To Check Out Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 5th of March, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 20th of March.

Ruth's Hospitality Group's next dividend payment will be US$0.15 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.60 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ruth's Hospitality Group has a trailing yield of 3.1% on the current share price of $19.14. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ruth's Hospitality Group

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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. That's why it's good to see Ruth's Hospitality Group paying out a modest 36% of its earnings.

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

NasdaqGS:RUTH Historical Dividend Yield, February 29th 2020
NasdaqGS:RUTH Historical Dividend Yield, February 29th 2020

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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Fortunately for readers, Ruth's Hospitality Group's earnings per share have been growing at 14% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. Fast-growing businesses that are reinvesting heavily are enticing from a dividend perspective, especially since they can often increase the payout ratio later.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, seven years ago, Ruth's Hospitality Group has lifted its dividend by approximately 21% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

To Sum It Up

Is Ruth's Hospitality Group an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Companies like Ruth's Hospitality Group that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Ruth's Hospitality Group ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.

Ever wonder what the future holds for Ruth's Hospitality Group? See what the three analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.