This affirms a healthy yield of 2.1% and a solid payout ratio of 53%.
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So one year's high payout ratio might merely reflect low earnings, and vice versa.
Seagate has a current dividend yield of 3.92% and a payout ratio of 32%.
If you own stocks where the payout ratio is greater than 100%, you should be concerned.
When the payout ratio fell below 50% in the mid-1970s, subsequent earnings growth plunged into negative figures.
Even so, Baytex shares yield a steady 4.7% and the payout ratio is lower than other ex-CRTs.
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Uber Aristocrats would be those companies that have increased their dividends while decreasing their dividend payout ratio.
Earlier this month, it had a current dividend yield of 3.32% with a payout ratio of 33%.
Microsoft, selling under 10 times earnings with a rising dividend payout ratio had no takers, down 7 percent.
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That pushes the effective U.S.-only cash dividend payout ratio to close to 50%.
Cisco initiated a dividend just last year with a current yield of 1.68% and a payout ratio of 10%.
The dividend payout ratio was 30.6% in 2011, above the rate of 20.8% in 2009 and 24.2% in 2010.
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The payout ratio is a non-stressful 46% of earnings and 44% of cash flow, good for a 3.17% yield.
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Under these circumstances, the only way a company can maintain its current dividend is to raise the payout ratio.
Nationwide diversified financial services company, Wells Fargo has a dividend yield of 2.7 percent and a payout ratio of 0.05.
CapitaMall also has a high payout ratio consistent with the country's REIT market, while Simon has a 2.8% dividend yield.
This ratio also is helpful in evaluating dividends at money-losing companies, which defy analysis using a traditional earnings payout ratio.
The Integrity Index identifies companies that have promising increases in dividends while still honoring a low payout ratio as well.
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Atypically the company announced it will reduce its dividend payout ratio during the current year and devote more money to advertising.
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The dividend yield for the market is a function of its price-earnings ratio more than the dividend payout ratio on earnings.
Its shares come with a 5.5% dividend yield, and its payout ratio (47.9%) is in line with its historical average (44.7%).
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Seadrill initiated its dividend policy last year, the payout ratio is above 100%, and the company has a lot of debt.
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Accenture has paid a dividend since 2005 and currently has a dividend yield of 2.33% with a payout ratio of 28%.
Currently, it pays a quarterly dividend of 22 cents that yields a solid 2.5%, while the payout ratio comes to 35.0%.
The cash dividend payout ratio is particularly useful for evaluating the staying power of dividends from companies undergoing massive business model overhauls.
Yep, its current dividend payout ratio is 231% of its net income.
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And for the dividend seekers out there, Wells Fargo is itchy to get its payout ratio back above 30%, from its current 24%.
For Bank of America, the managers are banking on a rebound in the dividend payout ratio to 30% in the next few years.
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In many cases, you can spot bad situations before they erupt if you keep an eye on distributable cash flow and the payout ratio.
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