Interested In Public Bank Berhad's (KLSE:PBBANK) Upcoming RM00.11 Dividend? You Have Four Days Left

It looks like Public Bank Berhad (KLSE:PBBANK) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. 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 important as the process of settlement involves at least two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Public Bank Berhad's shares before the 12th of March to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be RM00.11 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of RM0.20 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Public Bank Berhad has a trailing yield of 4.8% on the current share price of RM04.59. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Public Bank Berhad's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Public Bank Berhad can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Public Bank Berhad

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Public Bank Berhad is paying out an acceptable 57% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.

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?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Public Bank Berhad, with earnings per share up 5.3% on average 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. In the past 10 years, Public Bank Berhad has increased its dividend at approximately 7.4% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Is Public Bank Berhad an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Public Bank Berhad 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. We're unconvinced on the company's merits, and think there might be better opportunities out there.

If you're not too concerned about Public Bank Berhad's ability to pay dividends, you should still be mindful of some of the other risks that this business faces. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Public Bank Berhad that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

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.