Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) Passed Our Checks, And It's About To Pay A 0.7% 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 Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. Investors can purchase shares before the 12th of September in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of September.

Farmers National Banc's next dividend payment will be US$0.10 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.36 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Farmers National Banc stock has a trailing yield of around 3.0% on the current share price of $13.49. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Farmers National Banc

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Farmers National Banc paid out a comfortable 28% of its profit last year.

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 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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Farmers National Banc's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 24% per annum for the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Farmers National Banc's dividend payments per share have declined at 1.8% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Farmers National Banc for the upcoming 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. Farmers National Banc 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.

Ever wonder what the future holds for Farmers National Banc? See what the three analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.