WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 6th of September will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of October.

WesBanco's next dividend payment will be US$0.31 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.24 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, WesBanco has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current stock price of $34.22. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether WesBanco has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

See our latest analysis for WesBanco

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see WesBanco paying out a modest 40% 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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see WesBanco earnings per share are up 6.7% per annum over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. WesBanco has delivered an average of 1.0% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.

The Bottom Line

Has WesBanco got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It has been growing its earnings per share somewhat in recent years, although it reinvests more than half its earnings in the business, which could suggest there are some growth projects that have not yet reached fruition. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating WesBanco more closely.

Curious what other investors think of WesBanco? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow .