Yahoo Finance There's A Lot To Like About M&T Bank's (NYSE:MTB) Upcoming US$1.20 Dividend
M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase M&T Bank's shares before the 29th of November to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 31st of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$1.20 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$4.40 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that M&T Bank has a trailing yield of 3.0% on the current share price of $161.85. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether M&T Bank's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
Check out our latest analysis for M&T Bank
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. M&T Bank paid out a comfortable 32% of its profit last year.
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?
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. Fortunately for readers, M&T Bank's earnings per share have been growing at 14% a year for the past five years.
The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, M&T Bank has lifted its dividend by approximately 5.5% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because M&T Bank is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.
To Sum It Up
Is M&T Bank an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? When companies are growing rapidly and retaining a majority of the profits within the business, it's usually a sign that reinvesting earnings creates more value than paying dividends to shareholders. This strategy can add significant value to shareholders over the long term - as long as it's done without issuing too many new shares. M&T 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.
On that note, you'll want to research what risks M&T Bank is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for M&T Bank 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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