Yahoo Finance Is It Smart To Buy First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend?
It looks like First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 6th of August will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 21st of August.
First Community Bankshares's next dividend payment will be US$0.25 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, First Community Bankshares has a trailing yield of 5.1% on the current stock price of $19.56. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether First Community Bankshares's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
View our latest analysis for First Community Bankshares
Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Fortunately First Community Bankshares's payout ratio is modest, at just 48% of profit.
When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.
Click here to see how much of its profit First Community Bankshares paid out over the last 12 months.
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 earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see First Community Bankshares earnings per share are up 9.3% per annum over the last five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, First Community Bankshares has increased its dividend at approximately 9.6% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.
To Sum It Up
Has First Community Bankshares got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? First Community Bankshares has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating First Community Bankshares more closely.
While it's tempting to invest in First Community Bankshares for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. We've identified 3 warning signs with First Community Bankshares (at least 1 which is potentially serious), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
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.
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. 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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