Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Severn Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SVBI) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 5th of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of December.
Severn Bancorp's next dividend payment will be US$0.04 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.16 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Severn Bancorp has a trailing yield of approximately 1.8% on its current stock price of $8.87. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Severn Bancorp
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. Severn Bancorp is paying out just 17% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see how much of its profit Severn Bancorp 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. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Severn Bancorp's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 24% per annum for the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Severn Bancorp has seen its dividend decline 4.0% per annum on average over the past ten years, which is not great to see. It's unusual to see earnings per share increasing at the same time as dividends per share have been in decline. We'd hope it's because the company is reinvesting heavily in its business, but it could also suggest business is lumpy.
Final Takeaway
Should investors buy Severn Bancorp for the upcoming dividend? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Overall, Severn Bancorp looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.