It looks like Opus Bank (NASDAQ:OPB) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 5th of February to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of February.
Opus Bank’s upcoming dividend is US$0.11 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.44 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year’s worth of payments shows that Opus Bank has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current share price of $27.02. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Opus Bank has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
See our latest analysis for Opus Bank
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. Opus Bank paid out a comfortable 26% of its profit last year.
Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.
Click here to see the company’s payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
NasdaqGS:OPB Historical Dividend Yield, January 31st 2020
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. With that in mind, we’re encouraged by the steady growth at Opus Bank, with earnings per share up 3.8% on average over the last five years.
Many investors will assess a company’s dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, five years ago, Opus Bank has lifted its dividend by approximately 17% a year on average. It’s encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.
To Sum It Up
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Opus Bank? Opus Bank 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. Opus Bank 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.
Wondering what the future holds for Opus Bank? See what the five analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow
We wouldn’t recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here’s a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.