There's A Lot To Like About National Bank of Greece's (ATH:ETE) Upcoming €0.44 Dividend

Readers hoping to buy National Bank of Greece S.A. (ATH:ETE) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date generally occurs two days 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 of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade can take two business days or more to settle. Thus, you can purchase National Bank of Greece's shares before the 3rd of June in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 10th of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be €0.44 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of €0.36 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that National Bank of Greece has a trailing yield of 3.4% on the current share price of €10.70. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether National Bank of Greece's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

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If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see National Bank of Greece paying out a modest 25% of its earnings.

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.

View our latest analysis for National Bank of Greece

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 business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see National Bank of Greece's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 37% per annum for the past five years.

Unfortunately National Bank of Greece has only been paying a dividend for a year or so, so there's not much of a history to draw insight from.

To Sum It Up

Is National Bank of Greece worth buying for its dividend? Companies like National Bank of Greece that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating National Bank of Greece more closely.

Curious what other investors think of National Bank of Greece? See what analysts are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow.

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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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.