Year EPS ($) 2015 1.67 2016 2.87 2017 1.28 2018 4.05 2019 1.15

Southern Cities Trucking Company has the following five-year record of earnings per share:. Which of the following procedures would produce higher dividends to stockholders over this five-year period? a. Paying out dividends at a fixed ratio of 38% of EPS. b. Paying out dividends at a fixed rate of $1.28 per share. a. If they pay out dividends at a fixed ratio of 38% of EPS, the total of the dividends over the 5-year period is $ (Round to the nearest cent.)