Here's What We Like About Century Bancorp's (NASDAQ:CNBK.A) Upcoming Dividend
Readers hoping to buy Century Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNBK.A) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 30th of October in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 16th of November.
Century Bancorp's upcoming dividend is US$0.16 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.64 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Century Bancorp has a trailing yield of approximately 0.9% on its current stock price of $74.1. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Century Bancorp's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Century Bancorp can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for Century Bancorp
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. Century Bancorp has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 6.7% of its income after tax.
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 how much of its profit Century 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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. For this reason, we're glad to see Century Bancorp's earnings per share have risen 14% 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. In the past 10 years, Century Bancorp has increased its dividend at approximately 2.9% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Century Bancorp is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.
The Bottom Line
Should investors buy Century Bancorp for the upcoming dividend? Companies like Century Bancorp that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Century Bancorp ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
Curious about whether Century Bancorp has been able to consistently generate growth? Here's a chart of its historical revenue and earnings growth.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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