Why You Might Be Interested In Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) For Its Upcoming Dividend

It looks like Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWBK) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Thus, you can purchase Hawthorn Bancshares' shares before the 14th of December in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.17 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.68 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Hawthorn Bancshares stock has a trailing yield of around 3.0% on the current share price of $22.76. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

View our latest analysis for Hawthorn Bancshares

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Hawthorn Bancshares paid out just 19% of its profit last year, which we think is conservatively low and leaves plenty of margin for unexpected circumstances.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Click here to see how much of its profit Hawthorn Bancshares paid out over the last 12 months.

historic-dividend

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's encouraging to see Hawthorn Bancshares has grown its earnings rapidly, up 26% a year for the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Hawthorn Bancshares has delivered an average of 18% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

To Sum It Up

Is Hawthorn Bancshares an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Companies like Hawthorn Bancshares that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their 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. Hawthorn Bancshares 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.

Want to learn more about Hawthorn Bancshares's dividend performance? Check out this visualisation of its historical revenue and earnings growth.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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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.

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