It looks like Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 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 Lazard's shares before the 5th of May in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.50 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$2.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Lazard stock has a trailing yield of around 5.1% on the current share price of US$38.99. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Lazard's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Lazard can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

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If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Lazard is paying out an acceptable 63% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Lazard

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

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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Lazard, with earnings per share up 5.2% on average over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Lazard has delivered 5.2% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Is Lazard worth buying for its dividend? Lazard has been generating some growth in earnings per share while paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. It doesn't appear an outstanding opportunity, but could be worth a closer look.

However if you're still interested in Lazard as a potential investment, you should definitely consider some of the risks involved with Lazard. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Lazard that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

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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.