Readers hoping to buy United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Accordingly, United Community Banks investors that purchase the stock on or after the 14th of June will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 5th of July.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.23 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.92 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, United Community Banks stock has a trailing yield of around 3.4% on the current share price of $26.83. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for United Community Banks
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. That's why it's good to see United Community Banks paying out a modest 34% of its earnings.
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 the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's encouraging to see United Community Banks has grown its earnings rapidly, up 22% a year for the past five years.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last nine years, United Community Banks has lifted its dividend by approximately 25% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.