Yahoo Finance Is It Worth Considering Citizens & Northern Corporation (NASDAQ:CZNC) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
It looks like Citizens & Northern Corporation (NASDAQ:CZNC) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Citizens & Northern's shares before the 29th of October in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 12th of November.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.28 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.12 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Citizens & Northern stock has a trailing yield of around 4.4% on the current share price of $25.62. 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 investigate whether Citizens & Northern can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
View our latest analysis for Citizens & Northern
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. Citizens & Northern is paying out an acceptable 59% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.
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 how much of its profit Citizens & Northern paid out over the last 12 months.
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. This is why it's a relief to see Citizens & Northern earnings per share are up 7.0% 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. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Citizens & Northern has lifted its dividend by approximately 9.8% 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.
Final Takeaway
Is Citizens & Northern worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share have been growing at a reasonable rate, and the company is paying out a bit over half its earnings as dividends. It doesn't appear an outstanding opportunity, but could be worth a closer look.
If you're not too concerned about Citizens & Northern's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Citizens & Northern that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.
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. 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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