Learn
Payout ratio
The share of its profit a company pays out as dividends.
A company that earns R10 a share and pays a R5 dividend has a payout ratio of 50%. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) pay out most of what they earn by design.
A rising payout ratio with flat profits can mean the dividend has less room to grow.
More terms
- Price to earnings (P/E)The share price divided by the profit per share: how many years of today’s profit you pay for.
- Dividend yieldThe dividends paid over the last year as a percentage of today’s share price.
- Ex-dividend dateThe first day a share trades without its next dividend.
- Market value (market capitalisation)The share price times the number of shares: what the market says the whole company is worth.
- IndexOne number that tracks a basket of shares, so you can see how a whole market or sector is doing.
- RebalancingResetting an index’s members and weights on a fixed timetable.
- Every term ↗
The Monday briefCommerce, in your inbox.
Every Monday: last week’s moves in JSE commerce, your own shares, and the results and numbers due this week. Free, and you can unsubscribe any time.
We don’t take outside money, but we always like talking markets and commerce.
For media, research and partnership questions, send us an email.