It looks like Ohio Valley Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:OVBC) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. This means that investors who purchase Ohio Valley Banc's shares on or after the 28th of April will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of May.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.21 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.84 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Ohio Valley Banc has a trailing yield of 2.8% on the current stock price of $30.46. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Ohio Valley Banc's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Ohio Valley Banc can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for Ohio Valley Banc

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Fortunately Ohio Valley Banc's payout ratio is modest, at just 34% of profit.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit Ohio Valley Banc paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Ohio Valley Banc earnings per share are up 9.1% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Ohio Valley Banc's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were 10 years ago.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Ohio Valley Banc for the upcoming dividend? Ohio Valley Banc has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Ohio Valley Banc more closely.