United Bankers Oyj (HEL:UNIAV) Goes Ex-Dividend Soon

United Bankers Oyj (HEL:UNIAV) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. You can purchase shares before the 22nd of March in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 31st of March.

United Bankers Oyj's upcoming dividend is €0.51 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of €0.51 per share to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, United Bankers Oyj has a trailing yield of approximately 3.9% on its current stock price of €13.1. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether United Bankers Oyj has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for United Bankers Oyj

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 how much of its profit United Bankers Oyj paid out over the last 12 months.

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 earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see United Bankers Oyj earnings per share are up 4.6% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, six years ago, United Bankers Oyj has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

Final Takeaway

Has United Bankers Oyj got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? United Bankers Oyj has been generating some growth in earnings per share while paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. At best we would put it on a watch-list to see if business conditions improve, as it doesn't look like a clear opportunity right now.

If you're not too concerned about United Bankers Oyj's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for United Bankers Oyj you should be aware of.

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.

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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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