On the 29 December 2017, M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) will be paying shareholders an upcoming dividend amount of $0.75 per share. However, investors must have bought the company’s stock before 30 November 2017 in order to qualify for the payment. That means you have only 3 days left! Is this future income stream a compelling catalyst for dividend investors to think about MTB as an investment today? Let’s take a look at MTB’s most recent financial data to examine its dividend characteristics in more detail. See our latest analysis for MTB

5 checks you should do on a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?

• Has it consistently paid a stable dividend without missing a payment or drastically cutting payout?

• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?

• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

• Will it be able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future?

How well does M&T Bank fit our criteria?

The company currently pays out 33.96% of its earnings as a dividend, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect MTB’s payout to remain around the same level at 35.42% of its earnings, which leads to a dividend yield of 2.04%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to $9.72. If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it’s dividend stocks and their constant income stream. MTB has increased its DPS from $2.8 to $3 in the past 10 years. It has also been paying out dividend consistently during this time, as you’d expect for a company increasing its dividend levels. This is an impressive feat, which makes MTB a true dividend rockstar. Relative to peers, M&T Bank produces a yield of 1.88%, which is on the low-side for banks stocks.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder?

Are you a shareholder? Investors of M&T Bank can continue to expect strong dividends from the stock moving forward. With its favorable dividend characteristics, MTB is one worth keeping around in your income portfolio. However, depending on your portfolio composition, it may be beneficial exploring other dividend stocks to improve your diversification, or even look at high-growth stocks to complement your steady income stocks. I encourage you to continue your research by checking out my interactive free list of dividend rockstars as well as high-growth stocks to potentially add to your holdings.

Are you a potential investor? Keeping in mind the dividend characteristics above, MTB is definitely worth considering for investors looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. I also recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. No matter how much of a cash cow M&T Bank is, it is not worth an infinite price. Is MTB still a bargain? Check our latest free analysis to find out!

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.