Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of $0.13
The board of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.13 per share on the 23rd of November. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 3.2%, which is a modest boost for shareholders' returns.
View our latest analysis for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)
Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)'s Earnings Will Easily Cover The Distributions
The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock.
Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) has established itself as a dividend paying company with over 10 years history of distributing earnings to shareholders. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 38%, which means that Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.
EPS is set to fall by 3.3% over the next 3 years. Despite that, analysts estimate the future payout ratio could be 41% over the same time period, which is in a pretty comfortable range.
Dividend Volatility
The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.171 in 2012 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.52. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 12% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.
The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 11% per annum. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.
We Really Like Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)'s Dividend
Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. To that end, Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about. Is Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
