American National Bankshares' (NASDAQ:AMNB) Dividend Will Be US$0.27

American National Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ:AMNB) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.27 per share on the 17th of September. This means the annual payment is 3.7% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for American National Bankshares

American National Bankshares' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Before making this announcement, American National Bankshares was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 12.0% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 36%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

American National Bankshares Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$0.92 in 2011, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$1.08. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.6% per annum over that time. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that American National Bankshares has grown earnings per share at 12% per year over the past five years. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.

American National Bankshares Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we've picked out 1 warning sign for American National Bankshares that investors should take into consideration. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

If you decide to trade American National Bankshares, use the lowest-cost* platform that is rated #1 Overall by Barron’s, Interactive Brokers. Trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds on 135 markets, all from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.