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It looks like Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date, which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves a full business day. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Thus, you can purchase Atlantic Union Bankshares' shares before the 23rd of May in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 6th of June.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.34 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.36 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Atlantic Union Bankshares stock has a trailing yield of around 4.4% on the current share price of US$30.96. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Atlantic Union Bankshares's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Atlantic Union Bankshares can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Atlantic Union Bankshares is paying out an acceptable 60% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
See our latest analysis for Atlantic Union Bankshares
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Atlantic Union Bankshares's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 11% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Atlantic Union Bankshares has lifted its dividend by approximately 8.5% a year on average. That's interesting, but the combination of a growing dividend despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out more of the company's profits. This can be valuable for shareholders, but it can't go on forever.