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The board of Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAN) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 23rd of August, with investors receiving $0.11 per share. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 4.1%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.
Check out our latest analysis for Colony Bankcorp
Colony Bankcorp's Payment Expected To Have Solid Earnings Coverage
A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained.
Colony Bankcorp has established itself as a dividend paying company, given its 6-year history of distributing earnings to shareholders. Based on Colony Bankcorp's last earnings report, the payout ratio is at a decent 36%, meaning that the company is able to pay out its dividend with a bit of room to spare.
Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 5.7%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the future payout ratio could be 43% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
Colony Bankcorp Is Still Building Its Track Record
Colony Bankcorp's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. Since 2017, the dividend has gone from $0.10 total annually to $0.44. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 28% per annum over that time. The dividend has been growing rapidly, however with such a short payment history we can't know for sure if payment can continue to grow over the long term, so caution may be warranted.
Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve
Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. However, Colony Bankcorp's EPS was effectively flat over the past five years, which could stop the company from paying more every year. While EPS growth is quite low, Colony Bankcorp has the option to increase the payout ratio to return more cash to shareholders.
Our Thoughts On Colony Bankcorp's Dividend
In summary, we are pleased with the dividend remaining consistent, and we think there is a good chance of this continuing in the future. The dividend has been at reasonable levels historically, but that hasn't translated into a consistent payment. Taking all of this into consideration, the dividend looks viable moving forward, but investors should be mindful that the company has pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the past and may do so again.
Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Colony Bankcorp that investors should take into consideration. Is Colony Bankcorp not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.