Yahoo Finance Be Sure To Check Out WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. You can purchase shares before the 4th of November in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 19th of November.
WSFS Financial's next dividend payment will be US$0.12 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.48 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, WSFS Financial has a trailing yield of approximately 1.5% on its current stock price of $31.095. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether WSFS Financial can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
See our latest analysis for WSFS Financial
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. WSFS Financial has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 24% of its income after tax.
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 the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's not encouraging to see that WSFS Financial's earnings are effectively flat 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. In the past 10 years, WSFS Financial has increased its dividend at approximately 12% a year on average.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid WSFS Financial? WSFS Financial has seen its earnings per share stagnate in recent years, although the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which could bode well for its future prospects. In summary, WSFS Financial appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks WSFS Financial is facing. For example, we've found 1 warning sign for WSFS Financial that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.
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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