Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSTG) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. 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. Therefore, if you purchase Wayside Technology Group's shares on or after the 12th of August, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 19th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.17 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.68 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Wayside Technology Group has a trailing yield of 2.2% on the current share price of $30.85. 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 Wayside Technology 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. Fortunately Wayside Technology Group's payout ratio is modest, at just 26% of profit. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Wayside Technology Group generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Dividends consumed 55% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's positive to see that Wayside Technology Group'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 Wayside Technology Group paid out over the last 12 months.

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. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, Wayside Technology Group's earnings per share have been growing at 15% a year for the past five years. Wayside Technology Group has an average payout ratio which suggests a balance between growing earnings and rewarding shareholders. Given the quick rate of earnings per share growth and current level of payout, there may be a chance of further dividend increases in the future.