First Commonwealth Financial's (NYSE:FCF) Dividend Will Be $0.125

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The board of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.125 per share on the 17th of November. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 4.2%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial's Earnings Will Easily Cover The Distributions

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, First Commonwealth Financial has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. While past data isn't a guarantee for the future, First Commonwealth Financial's latest earnings report puts its payout ratio at 8.1%, showing that the company can pay out its dividends comfortably.

The next 3 years are set to see EPS grow by 6.4%. Analysts estimate the future payout ratio will be 36% over the same time period, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

First Commonwealth Financial Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $0.20 total annually to $0.50. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 9.6% over that duration. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. First Commonwealth Financial has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 11% per annum. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for First Commonwealth Financial's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

We Really Like First Commonwealth Financial's Dividend

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for First Commonwealth Financial that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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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