Only 2 Days Left To Cash In On Southern National Bancorp of Virginia Inc (NASDAQ:SONA) Dividend, Is It Worth Buying?
Important news for shareholders and potential investors in Southern National Bancorp of Virginia Inc (NASDAQ:SONA): The dividend payment of US$0.08 per share will be distributed into shareholder on 24 August 2018, and the stock will begin trading ex-dividend at an earlier date, 10 August 2018. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I examine Southern National Bancorp of Virginia’s latest financial data to analyse its dividend characteristics.
View our latest analysis for Southern National Bancorp of Virginia
How I analyze a dividend stock
When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas:
Is it the top 25% annual dividend yield payer?
Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?
Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?
How does Southern National Bancorp of Virginia fare?
The company currently pays out 37.77% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.
If there’s one type of stock you want to be reliable, it’s dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. Unfortunately, it is really too early to view Southern National Bancorp of Virginia as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 6 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.
In terms of its peers, Southern National Bancorp of Virginia generates a yield of 1.83%, which is on the low-side for Banks stocks.
Next Steps:
Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in Southern National Bancorp of Virginia for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. Below, I’ve compiled three fundamental aspects you should further research:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SONA’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SONA’s outlook.
Valuation: What is SONA worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SONA is currently mispriced by the market.
Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
