Yahoo Finance We Wouldn't Be Too Quick To Buy South State Corporation (NASDAQ:SSB) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend
Readers hoping to buy South State Corporation (NASDAQ:SSB) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. You can purchase shares before the 11th of February in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 19th of February.
South State's next dividend payment will be US$0.47 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.88 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, South State has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current stock price of $76.13. 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 South State can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for South State
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 85% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be worried about the risk of a drop in earnings.
Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're discomforted by South State's 12% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.
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, South State has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. South State is already paying out a high percentage of its income, so without earnings growth, we're doubtful of whether this dividend will grow much in the future.
The Bottom Line
Should investors buy South State for the upcoming dividend? We're not overly enthused to see South State's earnings in retreat at the same time as the company is paying out more than half of its earnings as dividends to shareholders. South State doesn't appear to have a lot going for it, and we're not inclined to take a risk on owning it for the dividend.
Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with South State. For example, South State has 4 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.
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. 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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