Yahoo Finance Is It Worth Considering Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PWOD) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
Readers hoping to buy Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PWOD) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You will need to purchase shares before the 4th of September to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of September.
Penns Woods Bancorp's next dividend payment will be US$0.32 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.28 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Penns Woods Bancorp has a trailing yield of approximately 5.8% on its current stock price of $22.03. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Penns Woods Bancorp
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Penns Woods Bancorp is paying out an acceptable 62% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.
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 Penns Woods Bancorp paid out over the last 12 months.
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 fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That explains why we're not overly excited about Penns Woods Bancorp's flat earnings over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Penns Woods Bancorp's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were 10 years ago.
The Bottom Line
Is Penns Woods Bancorp worth buying for its dividend? Penns Woods Bancorp's earnings are effectively flat over recent years, even as the company pays out more than half of its earnings to shareholders as dividends. We're unconvinced on the company's merits, and think there might be better opportunities out there.
With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Penns Woods Bancorp, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Penns Woods Bancorp you should be aware of.
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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