On the 03 May 2019, Starrag Group Holding AG (VTX:STGN) will be paying shareholders an upcoming dividend amount of CHF1.00 per share. However, investors must have bought the company's stock before 30 April 2019 in order to qualify for the payment. That means you have only 3 days left! Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I take a deeper dive into Starrag Group Holding's latest financial data to analyse its dividend attributes.

See our latest analysis for Starrag Group Holding

How I analyze a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is it paying an annual yield above 75% of dividend payers?

• Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

• Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?

• Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?

• Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

How does Starrag Group Holding fare?

The company currently pays out 40% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. The reality is that it is too early to consider Starrag Group Holding as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 9 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.

Compared to its peers, Starrag Group Holding generates a yield of 1.8%, which is on the low-side for Machinery stocks.

Next Steps:

Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in Starrag Group Holding for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I've put together three fundamental aspects you should further research:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for STGN’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for STGN’s outlook.

2. Valuation: What is STGN worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether STGN is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.