Yahoo Finance Should You Buy Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) For Its Upcoming Dividend?
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) is about to go ex-dividend in just three days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order 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. Therefore, if you purchase Fulton Financial's shares on or after the 30th of November, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 15th of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.06 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$0.68 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Fulton Financial has a trailing yield of approximately 3.6% on its current stock price of $18.73. 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! As a result, readers should always check whether Fulton Financial has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.
Check out our latest analysis for Fulton Financial
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Fulton Financial paid out a comfortable 37% 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?
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 earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Fortunately for readers, Fulton Financial's earnings per share have been growing at 10% 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. In the past 10 years, Fulton Financial has increased its dividend at approximately 11% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.
The Bottom Line
Is Fulton Financial worth buying for its dividend? 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. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Fulton Financial more closely.
In light of that, while Fulton Financial has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Fulton Financial that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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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