Greene County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GCBC)'s Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend
Greene County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GCBC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You can purchase shares before the 13th of February in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 28th of February.
Greene County Bancorp's next dividend payment will be US$0.11 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.44 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Greene County Bancorp has a trailing yield of 1.5% on the current stock price of $29.14. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
See our latest analysis for Greene County Bancorp
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Greene County Bancorp has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 20% 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 Greene County 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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see Greene County Bancorp's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 23% per annum for the past five years.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past ten years, Greene County Bancorp has increased its dividend at approximately 2.6% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Greene County Bancorp is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.
The Bottom Line
Is Greene County Bancorp worth buying for its dividend? Companies like Greene County Bancorp that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. Overall, Greene County Bancorp looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.
Curious about whether Greene County Bancorp has been able to consistently generate growth? Here's a chart of its historical revenue and earnings growth.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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