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It looks like Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the 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. Thus, you can purchase Stock Yards Bancorp's shares before the 17th of March in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of April.
The company'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. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Stock Yards Bancorp has a trailing yield of 1.8% on the current share price of US$67.72. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Stock Yards Bancorp
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Stock Yards Bancorp paid out a comfortable 31% of its profit last year.
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?
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. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Stock Yards Bancorp, with earnings per share up 5.9% on average over the last five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Stock Yards Bancorp has lifted its dividend by approximately 7.8% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.