Read This Before Considering Ohio Valley Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:OVBC) For Its Upcoming US$0.21 Dividend
Ohio Valley Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:OVBC) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 29th of October will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 10th of November.
Ohio Valley Banc's next dividend payment will be US$0.21 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.84 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ohio Valley Banc has a trailing yield of 3.7% on the current share price of $22.97. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Ohio Valley Banc
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Ohio Valley Banc paid out a comfortable 45% of its profit last year.
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 Ohio Valley Banc paid out over the last 12 months.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. That explains why we're not overly excited about Ohio Valley Banc's flat earnings over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Ohio Valley Banc's dividend payments are broadly unchanged compared to where they were 10 years ago.
To Sum It Up
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Ohio Valley Banc? Ohio Valley Banc's earnings per share are basically flat over the past five years, although it has the cushion of a low payout ratio, which would suggest a cut to the dividend is relatively unlikely. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.
Want to learn more about Ohio Valley Banc's dividend performance? Check out this visualisation of its historical revenue and earnings growth.
A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising 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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