Only 4 Days Left Before Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSEMKT:BHB) Will Be Trading Ex-Dividend
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Investors who want to cash in on Bar Harbor Bankshares’s (NYSEMKT:BHB) upcoming dividend of US$0.20 per share have only 4 days left to buy the shares before its ex-dividend date, 14 February 2019, in time for dividends payable on the 15 March 2019. Is this future income stream a compelling catalyst for dividend investors to think about the stock as an investment today? Let’s take a look at Bar Harbor Bankshares’s most recent financial data to examine its dividend characteristics in more detail.
Check out our latest analysis for Bar Harbor Bankshares
5 checks you should use to assess a dividend stock
If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:
Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?
Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?
Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past?
Does earnings amply cover its dividend payments?
Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?
How does Bar Harbor Bankshares fare?
Bar Harbor Bankshares has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 37%, which means that the dividend is 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.
When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio.
If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it’s dividend stocks and their constant income stream. BHB has increased its DPS from $0.46 to $0.80 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock.
Relative to peers, Bar Harbor Bankshares generates a yield of 3.4%, which is high for Banks stocks but still below the market’s top dividend payers.
Next Steps:
Taking into account the dividend metrics, Bar Harbor Bankshares ticks most of the boxes as a strong dividend investment, putting it in my list of top dividend payers. 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. I’ve put together three fundamental aspects you should further research:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BHB’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BHB’s outlook.
Valuation: What is BHB 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 BHB is currently mispriced by the market.
Other 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.
