First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At US$0.17
First Financial Bankshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FFIN) dividend will be increasing on the 1st of July to US$0.17, with investors receiving 13% more than last year. Despite this raise, the dividend yield of 1.5% is only a modest boost to shareholder returns.
View our latest analysis for First Financial Bankshares
First Financial Bankshares' Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions
While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible. However, prior to this announcement, First Financial Bankshares' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 0.9% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 42% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
First Financial Bankshares Has A Solid Track Record
Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from US$0.24 to US$0.60. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 9.6% per annum over that time. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.
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. It's encouraging to see First Financial Bankshares has been growing its earnings per share at 15% a year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for First Financial Bankshares' prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.
First Financial Bankshares Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock
Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. 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. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 6 First Financial Bankshares analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.
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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.
