There's A Lot To Like About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PEBK) Upcoming 0.5% Dividend
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 30th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of September.
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's next dividend payment will be US$0.14 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.56 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a trailing yield of 2.1% on the current share price of $27.15. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
View our latest analysis for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is paying out just 22% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
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. For this reason, we're glad to see Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's earnings per share have risen 20% per annum 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. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has delivered an average of 2.5% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's good to see both earnings and the dividend have improved - although the former has been rising much quicker than the latter, possibly due to the company reinvesting more of its profits in growth.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. This is one of the most attractive investment combinations under this analysis, as it can create substantial value for investors over the long run. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.
Keen to explore more data on Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's financial performance? Check out our visualisation of its historical revenue and earnings growth.
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.
