Income Investors Should Know That Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon
Readers hoping to buy Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 31st of July will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of August.
Northwest Bancshares's next dividend payment will be US$0.18 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.72 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Northwest Bancshares has a trailing yield of 4.2% on the current share price of $16.97. 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! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Northwest Bancshares
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Northwest Bancshares is paying out an acceptable 68% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.
When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. 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 Northwest Bancshares, with earnings per share up 6.8% on average 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. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Northwest Bancshares has lifted its dividend by approximately 6.3% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.
Final Takeaway
Has Northwest Bancshares got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Northwest Bancshares has been generating some growth in earnings per share while paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.
Wondering what the future holds for Northwest Bancshares? See what the four analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
